Looking in All The Wrong Places 2 Corinthians 4:13-18

It breaks my heart when I hear another news story about the rising rates of depression, suicide, and loneliness being experienced by Americans of all ages. I was sent an article this past week spotlighting the crisis among kids. The article written by Kristina Sauerwein, from the Washington University School of Medicine, spotlighted the fact that before Covid came to town our teenagers were already in a mental health crisis and it has only grown worse. She writes,

Persistent feelings of hopelessness and sadness almost doubled over a 10-year period ending in 2019, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also during this time, attempted suicide and thoughts about suicide skyrocketed among U.S. high school students. (Kristina Sauerwein, Pediatric primary care on the front lines of teen mental health crisis. Medical Press, February 3, 2023.)

The Center for Disease Control released a study towards the end of 2022 pointing out that suicide rates increased in 2021. The study said, “The largest increase in the rate of suicide occurred among males ages 15-24 – an 8% increase. Suicide rates also increased for males ages 25-34, 35-44, and 65-74.” These findings, as well as other articles I’ve been sent and articles I’ve read over the past year, have led me to reflect on friends and family members who have struggled to find purpose and meaning in this life. The statistics and stories prompt us to ask, “Why?” and “How?”There are plenty of people who are quick to offer us superficial, easy answers. Some would tell us that we need to spend more money on mental health professionals and increase opportunities for people to get help. I don’t think that’s a bad idea at all. Others would suggest that the poor and marginalized have lost hope because they have no opportunity. We have to lift people out of poverty and then they will be lifted out of despair and hopelessness. I’m all for lifting people out of poverty and creating opportunities for people to better their lives, but it’s not just the poor and marginalized who are struggling to find meaning, purpose, and hope in life. And this has always been true. The problems we are facing today have been present in each and every generation and they are found in every culture and society around the world. Leo Tolstoy was born into an aristocratic family in Russia in 1828. By the time he had turned 50, Tolstoy had become the most famous author in the world. He had written War and Peace in 1869 and it became a huge hit. Then, less than ten years later, Tolstoy wrote Anna Karenina. The two books today are considered two of the finest pieces of literature ever written. Time Magazine voted War and Peace and Anna Karenina, the first and third greatest books ever written in history. On Tolstoy’s 50th birthday he found himself at the height of his fame. He had achieved fame, fortune, and he had a wonderful family, but he found himself struggling to find meaning and purpose in life. His struggle was so profound that he was searching for a reason to live. He wrote, in his book, Confession, 

I did not know what I wanted. I was afraid of life; I was driven to leave it; and in spite of that I still hoped for something from it. All this took place at a time when so far as all my outer circumstances went, I ought to have been completely happy. I had a good wife who loved me and whom I loved; good children and a large property which was increasing with no pains taken on my part. I was more respected by my kinsfolk and acquaintances than I had ever been; I was loaded with praise by strangers; and without exaggeration I could believe my name was already famous. Moreover I was neither insane nor ill. On the contrary, I possessed a physical and mental strength which I have rarely met in persons of my age. I could mow as well as the peasants, I could work with my brain for eight hours uninterrupted and feel no bad effects. And yet I could give no reasonable meaning to any actions of my life. (Tolstoy, Leo. “A Confession.”)

Finding himself at the lowest point of his life, while having more than he had ever had by way of fame and money, Tolstoy went on a search for something more, something more meaningful. He found what he was looking for among the peasants who had nothing, but their faith. Tolstoy wrote, 

I could not but admit that [religious belief] alone gives mankind a reply to the questions of life; and that consequently it makes life possible. Faith gives to the finite existence of man an infinite meaning, a meaning not destroyed by sufferings, deprivations, or death…Live seeking God, and then you will not live without God. And more than ever before, all within me and around me lit up, and the light did not again abandon me. (Tolstoy, Leo. A Confession)

Why is it that so many are so lost and struggling to find meaning and purpose in this life? We have been looking in all the wrong places. We have believed the marketers of Madison Avenue when they’ve told us the newest trinkets and toys will bring us peace, contentment, and make us happy, even though it is impossible for them to deliver on their promises. The excitement of the “new,” regardless of whether it is a new experience, new car, home, or significant other can only last so long. Deep in our souls we hear the whisper, “There has to be more to life than this.” In our Scripture for this morning we can learn a great lesson from Paul about where we need to look for meaning and purpose in life. Let’s read 2 Corinthians 4:13-18 and see what we can learn. 

13 It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 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 Corinthians 4:13-18 NIV)

Throughout Paul’s letter to the people in Corinth he has been making the case that the trials and troubles he has faced were a consequence of his faithfulness to God. That was something the people in Corinth found so difficult to accept, much like it is so difficult for people living in our day to accept that the hardships of life are anything more than an opportunity to ask God to get us out of the fix we are in. We are more like the people of ancient Corinth than we would ever be willing to admit. Last week, as we took a look at 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, Paul made it clear that we are all jars of clay. He was as transparent as he could be in laying all of his cards on the table when he told them he had been, and continued to be “hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down,” but he was not “crushed, despairing, abandoned by God, or destroyed.” Paul was walking in the steps of his Savior and He was willing to walk that path for the sake of those who needed to hear the Gospel. Now, as we turn to our Scripture for this morning, in verse 13, Paul let them know that what he was experiencing, God’s servants who had gone before him had experienced as well. He writes,

13 It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, (2 Corinthians 4:13 NIV)

Paul is drawing from Psalm 116, a testimony from the psalmist of how God delivered him during a time when he thought his life was over. The phrase Paul quoted is from Psalm 116:10, from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. I want us to read the first seven verses so we can get a sense of what the psalmist was experiencing and how God intervened. Let’s read it together.

1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. 2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: "LORD, save me!" 5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. 6 The LORD protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. 7 Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. (Psalm 116:1-7 NIV)

Because the psalmist and Paul had experienced God's deliverance they were more than willing to speak: “I believed, therefore I have spoken.” Both had experienced God’s deliverance and that led to their declaration of praise for all that God had done in their lives. Is that true of you? Have you experienced God’s deliverance in your own life? Have you ever found yourself between a rock and a hard place, not knowing which way to turn, what you should do, and God made a way? Have the circumstances of your life ever brought you to the end of yourself? You had lost all hope of things ever being different from what you were experiencing, but then God somehow, some way parted the clouds and quieted the storm? Or maybe you are in the storm right now and yet the Lord has given you a peace that is unexplainable and you know He’s at work even though there is no evidence to bring you to that conclusion. We all have reasons to praise Him along with Paul and the psalmist. Paul’s confidence in the Lord was not simply rooted in his experience of God’s deliverance in the past, but in something much more important–Jesus’ empty grave. He writes in verse 14,

14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. (2 Corinthians 4:14 NIV)

From the time of Jesus’ resurrection, it is the empty grave that has been the source of strength for those who are followers of Jesus. God has raised Jesus from the dead and we serve a living Savior–this is the bedrock of our trust in God’s Sovereignty, love, and power and our strength for living in this broken world full of trials and troubles. It is also our focal point for the future because we know that if God held true to His promise to raise Jesus from the dead, we can trust every promise He has made to us.  Scott Hafemann writes,

If the cross of Christ explains why Paul suffers, it is the resurrection of Christ that gives him the confident hope needed to persevere as he suffers. (Hafemann, Scott. The NIV Application Commentary: 2 Corinthians. pg. 188)

There are many skeptics in our day who simply refuse to believe that Jesus literally rose from the dead. Tragically, there are a growing number of pastors and leaders within the church, who call themselves followers of Jesus, but are joining the ranks of the skeptics and painting Jesus’ resurrection as a symbol of new life, but they don’t believe Jesus literally rose from the dead. I can’t even begin to understand how one can come to this conclusion when you read the Bible. The death and resurrection of Jesus is the very foundation of our faith. It was the message of Jesus’ followers following His resurrection and it was the ignition point for the spread of the Good News throughout the world. The followers of Jesus had seen Him alive. Jesus had not only shown Himself to them, but He had given them marching orders for what they were to do now that He was alive. They were to go and tell others! Jesus appeared to Paul, who up to the moment of Jesus’ appearance to him had been the most violent persecutor of Jesus’ followers, and Paul’s life was suddenly, radically, changed. Jesus’ death and resurrection became Paul’s single message. Later in life, Paul told a young preacher friend named Timothy,

7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; (2 Timothy 2:7-11 NIV)

I could fill the rest of our Sundays for the rest of the year talking about Jesus’ resurrection and its implications for you and me, but we need to move on or we will run out of time. Let’s read together from verse 15.

15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 4:15 NIV)

Paul says everything he does is for the benefit of the people of Corinth as well as the other churches he serves. It has been said that the Church of Jesus Christ is the only organization that exists primarily for those who are not members. Britton Christian Church, and every other church for that matter, is called to go and share the Gospel and make disciples. We are “other” oriented. We come together to worship, pray, praise God in song, study, and fellowship as a family of believers and then we go and carry the Good News with us throughout the week. Within the church, in our relationship with one another, we remain “other” oriented. “How can I be a blessing to my brothers and sisters in Christ? How can I use the gifts the Lord has given me to help build up this local body of believers? Who is hurting that I can help? Where am I needed?” We are focused on the “other.” When members of a church become focused inwardly, on what we want and what we don’t like, then we have moved out of God’s purpose for us as a church and that my friend will be the beginning of the end of the effectiveness and life of our church. You see, God’s design is that the grace that we have received, that it would be extended to others and would cause them to see the glory of God found in Jesus and they would join the chorus of thankful worshipers of our King. That’s what Paul means when he writes, “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.”I want to show you something interesting, something so powerful before we move on. When Paul wrote to Titus, he said, 

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. (Titus 2:11 NIV)

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” Now, in 2 Corinthians 4:15, Paul says that same grace is spreading. God’s grace is not static, it is dynamic! God’s grace is on the move as God’s people move out of their comfort zone and go where He wants us to go, do what He has called us to do, and share the Good News in every way imaginable. And what is the end goal of our extending the grace of God to others? Paul answers the question for us when he writes that it may “cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” Isn’t that our hearts desire? An ever increasing choir of people from all walks of life praising God? I pray that it is because you are not going to like heaven one bit if you want to keep God’s grace to yourself. God pulled back the curtain and gave John a glimpse of what heaven will look like in Revelation 7:9-10. Listen to this.

9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." (Revelation 7:9-10 NIV)

What a glorious picture! I can’t wait to sing at the top of my lungs with a choir from every nation, tribe, people, and language! Let’s take a look at our last three verses for this morning, found in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 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 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV)

Paul, in the opening verse of 2 Corinthians 4 had told the Corinthians, “Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” (2 Corinthians 4:1 NIV) Now, in verse 16, he says it again. Outwardly we are wasting away, but inwardly we are being renewed day by day–therefore we do not lose heart. When we are young we fail to recognize that we are wasting away, that we are moving closer and closer to death. As the years rock along the signs become more and more apparent until we are no longer able to dismiss the thought of our coming death. We lose the ability to do the things we used to do. We begin to break down, lose strength, lose the ability to see and hear, and we become more and more aware that our life is winding down. Now, at that point we can either be optimistic or pessimistic. I’ve known far too many older people who once they got up in years they became bitter, angry, and pessimistic. I want you to know this is not a natural consequence of aging. There was a group of senior citizens in Florida who were sitting around talking about all of their ailments one day. One said, “My arms are so weak I can hardly hold this cup of coffee.” His friend said, “My cataracts are so bad I can’t even see my coffee.” One of the women spoke up and said, “I can’t even turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck.” Her friend spoke up, “My blood pressure pills make me dizzy, but I guess that’s the price we pay for getting old.” Then, after listening to everyone speak, a woman said, “Well, it’s not that bad! Thank God we all still have our driver’s licenses!” For Paul, he had not just chosen to look on the bright side. There was something much more powerful at work which kept him focused not on what he was losing, but what he was to gain. William Barclay writes,

The years which take away physical beauty should add spiritual beauty. From the physical point of view life may be a slow but inevitable slipping down the slope that leads to death and ends in the grave. But from the spiritual point of view life is a climbing up the hill that leads to the peak of the presence of God. No man need fear the years, for they bring him nearer, not to death, but to God. (William Barclay)

Oh, this life is increasingly difficult as the years bring new and even greater challenges. I’ve struggled with Paul’s description of the hardships of life, the most painful experiences we will ever encounter in life, as “our light and momentary troubles…” I’ve never considered the hardships Connie and I have been through as “light and momentary,” have you? They have been gut wrenching, cost me way too many night’s sleep, and taken years off of my life I’m sure. During those times I have said, “Well, it could be worse. We could be going through what our friend is going through or what those people over there are going through, but I’ve never described them as “light and momentary.” Here’s how Paul can describe his own hardship as light and momentary. Read verses 17-18 with me.

17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 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 Corinthians 4:17-18 NIV)

Paul is not comparing his hardships with the hardships of others, but he is comparing his hardships with the eternal weight of glory that is his in Christ. The eternal weight of glory to be experienced in the future makes Paul’s current hardships “light and momentary.” To be able to live with this kind of hope regardless of the situations we will face requires that we look in the right direction. We have to take our eyes off of what is right in front of us and see the unseen. That’s odd isn’t it? How can you see the unseen? A little later in 2 Corinthians 5:7, Paul will write, “We walk by faith, not by sight.”  Fanny Crosby wrote more than 9,000 hymns during her life even though she lost her ability to see when she was six weeks old due to a mistake made by a doctor. One day she was visiting with a pastor who said, “Fanny, I think it is a pity that the Lord did not give you sight when He gave you so many other gifts.” Fanny said, 

Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I was born blind? Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior. (Fanny Crosby)

Fanny Crosby learned what the Apostle Paul is seeking to teach you and me this very morning. The most priceless and lasting realities in the world are beyond our physical senses. We fix our gaze on these unseen realities through the Word of God and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, by the grace of God, we are able to see the glorious future God has prepared for those who trust in Him. Will you trust in Him this morning as your Lord and Savior? Mike HaysFebruary 12, 2023