The apostle Paul addressed many challenging aspects of what it is to be a Christian. In II Corinthians (4:7-10) he wrote, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed- always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”
Truly, Paul was correct when he said that the Christian life has its challenges. Not every day is an easy, care-free day. Sometimes, living our lives to the glory of God is flat out hard. But as hard as the Christian life is, the apostle Paul tells us we should never lose heart. He wrote beginning in II Corinthians (4:16), “Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Paul explicitly tells us we can keep from losing heart when times get tough if we will simply focus on the principles that our inward man is being renewed day by day, that our affliction right now is light compared to the glory that awaits us, and that remembering to focus on things which are not seen will lead us into eternity.
If you have been losing heart in your faith, allow the apostle Paul to energize your faith. With God’s help and the proper mindset, we can overcome all discouragement. Remember, do not lose heart!
