It's All Temporary

II Corinthians 4:16-18
That is why we never give up, though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. So we don't look at the troubles we can see now, rather, we fix our gaze on things we cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Finding the value in our relationship with Christ.
Understanding the truth of who He is.
Seeing the wisdom and the truth of His word...
Not only this, but that we would learn to apply His word to our every day, walking-around-sleeping-eating life.
To see that everything around us is temporary....
Our problems...
Our situations....
Even our very life, is temporary.
That doesn't mean we shirk all responsibility in the here and now, and run around like spoiled children.
What it does mean is that we face each problem head on. We do not cut. We do not run.
No matter how hard or how bad, we face it.....
And we look to Jesus for the direction and answer on how to deal with whatever it is that has reared its ugly head in our life.

You know what the funny part in all of this is?
As we do face our problems.....
And as we do look to Jesus to give us direction and strength....
Our faith and trust in Him grows. We simply find out that He is trustworthy. He is who He claims to be, and He will do what He has promised He would do. Simple as that.

II Corinthians 4:1
Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this new way (of living) we never give up.The only giving up that is acceptable in the Kingdom of God is when we give up our will and life to Him. When we turn to Him to truly lead us through the pitfalls and traps that we face each day. He will not only lead you, He will empower you. This is called GRACE.

Let's look at the definition of Grace one more time.
Grace is the empowering presence of God in my life, that enables me to be who God created me to be.....and to do what God has called me to do.
It is the power of Grace that helps me to make through my day.
It is the power of Grace that causes thoughts and ideas to rise up in my heart and mind, that become direction that I need to follow.

I guess the main thing I have learned over the past few months, is that everything truly is temporary when compared to the eternal greatness of knowing Jesus. There isn't anything on this planet, or in this life that we should allow to come between us and our relationship with Jesus.  Hey, I know life is hard. I know that there are times you want to cut and run to whatever it is you use to give you comfort. But realize that the comfort you have sought out is only temporary. And it does nothing to help you with whatever problems or situation you are facing.
When it comes to life and living it out here on planet earth....
It's just Jesus....
He's all you need.
Just Jesus.

God on you....
mbb