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     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, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor. 4:16-18

     Dear heavenly Father, this portion of your Word arrives today like a geyser of grace, a waterfall of wonder, an ocean of affection. So great is your love, attention and care for us—your sons and daughters!

Following Paul’s lead in this Scripture, I praise you that the gospel calls us to live by hope, not by hype; by honest confession, not by spiritualized denial; by pouring our hearts out to you, not by giving a pep talk to ourselves; by seeing with the eyes of faith, not by medicating our multiplied pains.

Indeed, Lord, some of us have plenty of reasons for losing heart, and we don’t have to pretend otherwise: Relational distress and financial stress; broken health and aching hearts; fresh loneliness and out-of-control busyness; the pain of regret and the power of shame; an uncertain future and a not-so-happy present.

So, Father, help us today use the same set of scales that Paul used—gospel scales. May the combined weight of your great love lavished on us, the glory you’ve prepared for us, and the promise of your presence with us, far outweigh all the other stuff that is weighing down hearts down right now. May the gospel tip the scales WAY over in the direction of perspective and peace, encouragement and hope.

Father, let us see the real Jesus more clearly than we see our real pains; for by seeing Jesus we will see everything else in right proportion. Help us to fix our gaze on our great and grace-full Bridegroom—the author and perfecter of our faith; the writer and resolver of our stories; the bottler and wiper of our tears.

In light of the Day when we will shout, “It all makes sense now!” May our cry, today, be, “Your grace is enough.” May eternal things dazzle us much more than temporal things disappoint us. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ merciful and mighty name.

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