In The Midst of the Frustrations

Hmmmm .... so anyone frustrated yet? I know I am. Here it is 12:31am and I am still trying to iron out some problems with computers. I realize that the final product is going to be worth it so that is the reason I keep going. When I stop and think about the benefits and the ease of use this system will bring to our Learning Centre I find it a bit easier to push through. I may be frustrated now but when we have worked everything out my frustrations will have been forgotten.

Do you think maybe this is what Paul was referring to when he wrote to the Corinthians: "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." 2 Corinthians 4:17

The context of the verse is found here:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Do you notice the sentence that says "So we fix our eyes". A good builder knows what his finished product will look like. He has a plan that he is working toward. He may be working in the basement today laying sewage pipes but he already knows what kind of palace he is building and what it is going to look like when it is finished. This is the attitude Paul is writing about.

Our lives are part of an unfinished work of Art. What we see now is not the finished product so we should not pay too much attention to it. Perhaps we are not very patient with ourselves; perhaps we want better of ourselves; perhap there are many things we are not happy with in ourself. Maybe we do not like our current situation or our job or whatever. Yet, even though these details are part of a finished work of art, they are only part; they are not the finished work.

A good builder already knows what his finished buidling is going to look like and he builds to that end. An artist already knows what that painting is going to look like and works to that end. The Holy Spirit already knows what we are going to look like and he is working to that end.Why should we fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but on what is unseen? Because what we see is an unfinished work of art. What we fix our eyes on is what we will be when it's all over. It is the reaon we fix our eyes on Jesus.

Be patient, Father is not finished with us yet.

Back to work ...