"For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison..." -2 Corinthians 4:17
I remember football practices with our ex-Marine coach. He would command us to run wind sprints repeatedly in a loud, gravelly voice. Our sides would be hurting, our legs would feel like concrete, and we were all thinking, “when can we stop.” It wasn’t until a month later, when we were playing the games, that we understood what He was doing. He was pushing us, stretching us, for a glory he knew we could achieve. When we were scoring touchdowns and winning games, our minds did not remember the pains of the wind sprints.
The Spirit of God is changing us into the image of Christ. Many times, it does not feel comfortable. He directs us to turn off the television so we can spend time with the Lord. Our favorite show is coming on and our flesh is saying “we can spend time later.” Still, in faith and devotion we turn off the television. It is a beautiful Sunday morning, and we want to go boating, yet the Spirit calls us to worship Christ with our fellow Christians.
As we obey the Spirit of God within us and put our desires under His control, something marvelous happens. The lure and hunger of our flesh, which seemed so strong, is lost in the joy we experience with our Lord. The heavenly and eternal weight of our Lord’s glory and presence completely overwhelms all the previous burden of our flesh.
Pastor Michael Heil
The Unapologetic Theologian
Thread of Hope, Inc.