Daily devotional · January 27
Renewed Day by Day
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. 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.”
Paul lists his sufferings elsewhere in this letter, so he knows what he is saying when he writes that we do not lose heart. Outwardly we are wasting away, he admits, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. He does not deny aging, illness, or pain. He simply refuses to let the visible be the whole story. He calls our troubles light and momentary compared with an eternal glory beyond comparison, not because they are small but because eternity is vast. Then he gives the discipline: fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary and what is unseen is eternal. Today, if you are dealing with a body that is tired or a season that is heavy, name one unseen reality you can hold on to, such as God's presence or promise, and repeat it whenever discouragement rises.
Prayer
Lord, renew my inner self each day. Help me look beyond what I see to what lasts forever. Amen.