Seeing the Invisible

(2 Corinthians 4:16-18) Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 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.

When I first learned about the power of God's written word (The Bible, preferably starting in the New Testament), I was battling almost thirty years of depression and mental illness. The scripture above was a comfort to me because it revealed the fact that my personal struggle with mental illness would not be forever.

When I first started reading my Bible I did not experience change in a noticeable fashion but there was something transforming me from within. This is what verse 16 is explaining, though it appears that your outward man is perishing the inward man is becoming stronger and stronger everyday. Verse 17 refers to it as in a light affliction but I'll be honest with you it was no light affliction. I now understand verse 17 better because when I look back now the mountain doesn't seem as large as it did then because my perspective has changed. The second part of verse 17 talks about a more exceeding and external weight of glory. This means that as you read the Word of God what's going on in the inside eventuality starts to manifest itself on the outside. The glory that comes from my experience is evident in my desire and ability to help others who are going through what I have gone through.

What was once a weakness God has transformed into strength. Weakness was part of my physical limitations. In the realm of the physical there will always be limitations on every aspect of this world we live in. In this world there is a beginning and an ending to everything in existence. Life and death are part of the natural process. Verse 18 refers to this when it speaks of the things which are seen are temporary. Anything we experience in the natural world has a birth process and a death process. I held onto this whenever the devil would tell me that my struggle with mental illness would last forever. I would say, "No devil, this is temporary and subject to change." What I was really saying is this struggle with mental illness has a beginning and an end.

Unfortunately most people don't understand that everything in this earth is temporal or subject to change especially when it comes to the dunamis power of God's Word. Dunamis is a Greek word which means strength, power, and ability. God's Word (the Bible) has the strength, power, and ability to change any circumstance in this world. In the second part of verse 18 it tells us to focus on the things that are of an unseen nature or of a realm that one cannot access by natural means. The things that we find in this unseen realm have different characteristics than those found in the realm of the seen. The things found in the unseen realm possess the strength, power, ability of eternity. Anything in this realm will remain constant and unchangeable regardless of circumstances.

So the sum of the scripture which I focused on in this blog is this. We live in an uncertain world. I have heard it said that the only constant in this world is change. Now you understand that this world doesn't offer any sense of stability or any promises. Anyone educated in this world will hold those same values, but I am here to inform you that whatever you are going through there is a means to an end and it can only be found through the Word of God. The Word of God changed my life. I suffered for over 25 years from mental illness and today I am eternally changed through Jesus Christ. God gave me the eternal tools to fix a broken life. He gave me the strength, power, and ability to see the invisible.