Every trial has God’s special provision for us. It is hidden until He reveals it. Mark 4:22 says, “For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.”
The Lord waits to be gracious to us. He has hidden benefits that are not revealed until our need. Amy Carmichael said that His grace to endure and to conquer is never given until the moment in need (Rose From Briar page 113).
His promise is to provide all our need. We can stand in that as we go through our trials–seeing beyond. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 says, “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.”
I marvel at Paul’s words every time I read them or quote them to myself. He wrote about his ‘light afflictions’ in 2 Corinthians 11:23-33. 10 verses of intensely painful experiences. You can read them for yourself.
The key to our endurance is focus. A farmer plows his furrows straight because of a marker set at the end of each row. We cannot see beyond if we keep looking back. We cannot be see beyond when our thoughts and focus are mired in our circumstances.
Years ago I had a little beige Rabbit. A fellow hit me in a bank parking lot. His first words were, “Oh I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you.” When the body shop repaired the damage, they asked me what color I wanted my car to be. I thought “bright yellow” because there are no cars that color.
I drove out of the shop singing, “Heavenly sunshine…” On the way home I saw 5 bright yellow cars. Why didn’t I see them before? My reticular activator hadn’t been activated!
Our spiritual reticular activator will be activated as we continue to look beyond to the things that are NOT seen, rather than focusing on the temporary. Seeing beyond requires filtering everything through our ‘eternal’ lenses, and setting our mind on things above (Colossians 3:2).
M's Creations 