The sentiment of the prayer below has been on my heart and mind in recent days, both personally and in the daily news. Join me in prayer.
Humbly in Christ,
Pastor Matt
Gracious God,
You do not need reminding of what your own Word says. But I do. Lord, you have reminded me lately of these words you breathed out through the apostle Paul:
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Cor. 4:16-18, NIV)
Lord, you promise that, in Christ alone, you are preparing for us an eternal glory that far outweighs all our troubles. God, I admit my heart wants to say: Amen! Yes! What an amazing promise! But I have to ask, God, how can this be? We know all too fully the weight of this life:
Father, a memory of something poignant from this time last year bubbles to the surface, and we are weighed down with grief.
Father, we have an aging parent or loved one that we have to care for long-distance. While our love for them does not end, we are weighed down with the exhaustion of long-distance caregiving and weighty decisions to make.
Father, we hear of the murder of eight of your beloved image-bearers at spas in Atlanta, and we are weighed down with grief, let alone with anger at the racially charged motives of those attacks.
Father, we hear of the murder of ten of your beloved image-bearers at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, and we are weighed down with shock, grief, and the reminder of how precious and fleeting life is.
Father, we think about the fact that every day, so many instances of pain, suffering, and injustice strike your image-bearers across our world… and so much of it never “makes the news.” We are weighed down to remember just how broken and sinful our world still is.
Father, we who continue to remain isolated due to the pandemic are weighed down with loneliness and despair.
Father, we who have done “okay” through most of the pandemic nevertheless feel this nagging fatigue creeping in, and we’re weighed down by just how much has happened to us, our loved ones, and our world in a year’s time.
Father, those of us charged with leading others through the pandemic - business owners, ministry leaders, medical professionals, and more - we are grateful for the mantle of leading others through these times. But we are also weighed down with the daily need to maintain the kind of resilience, joy, and wisdom that others hope to see in us.
Father, every day you see each of us navigate interactions and conversations about masks, vaccines, and distancing, and we’re so aware of how unnecessarily emotional and weighty every single word, decision, and non-verbal reaction seems to be in our charged, divided social moment. We are weighed down with the toll of navigating those things at work, at home, with family, with neighbors, and more.
God, hear us clearly: this list - to which we could keep on adding! - is not merely our complaint. It is our lament and our admission that, yes, Lord, these troubles do indeed weigh us down. So now back to your promise, Lord: are you really saying that the eternal glory prepared for us in the victory of Christ “far outweighs” the sum total of everything up above? Lord God, if that is indeed true - which by faith in Christ we believe it is! - then we are moved to tears by such a profound promise. Because Jesus, we know how “heavy” life can feel. Yet you tell us that there’s a glory waiting for us that will make all of this feel like a milligram on a scale. Wow, Lord. Wow. And to think, Jesus, that this is just one of your promises offered through your victory over sin and death in the resurrection of Easter! Wow, Lord. Wow.
God, help us to hold onto that incredible promise every time our shoulders get hunched by the weight of this life. Help us to hold onto that incredible promise every time our headaches and migraines return because of the weight of this life. Help us to hold onto that incredible promise every time our souls feel crushed by the weight of yet another tragedy, big or small. As Paul says, Lord, fix our eyes on you in all situations. Holy Spirit, point us to someone within our reach who needs to hear that promise that your glory outweighs all the pain of this life; give us love and courage to offer that promise of Christ to someone today. All this we pray for His glory and the renown of His name in our lives and throughout the world.
Amen.
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