“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long… So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Paul understood hardship more than most—poverty, betrayal, shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonment, hunger, exhaustion. Yet he called his troubles “small.” Not because they were easy, but because he measured them against eternity. Paul lived with a resolve anchored in heaven. His eyes were fixed on Christ, not on the pain of the moment. He wasn’t living for comfort today; he was living for glory forever.
Just a few verses earlier, Paul said, “We are perplexed but not in despair.” Perplexed means baffled, puzzled, unable to make sense of what’s happening. Paul felt that deeply. Life confused him at times, just like it confuses us. But he refused to let confusion turn into hopelessness. His gaze stayed locked on Jesus. He didn’t deny his suffering—he simply refused to let it define him. He knew that what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
We often lose hope over things that are painfully small in the light of eternity. We feel defeated when conveniences slip away, when plans change, when life becomes uncomfortable. And while our pain and loneliness are real, they are not final. As followers of Christ, we must learn to shift our focus. We must trade the temporary for the eternal, the visible for the invisible, the explanation for the promise. Paul endured because his eyes were on the prize—Christ Himself.
Are you perplexed today? Are you weighed down by troubles that feel overwhelming? Lift your gaze. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Set aside what is temporary and cling to what is eternal. Store your treasure in heaven, not in the comforts of today. Pray that Christ remains your only hope, your steady anchor, and the One your heart is fixed upon.
“The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.” – Elisabeth Elliot
surrendered devotions 