With A View to Eternity

About a year ago I began to notice something unusual about my ability to tolerate food. Not just some foods but all food. It was somewhat concerning, and at first, not even Kent knew. I tried to manage it myself by eliminating some foods from my diet; but it wasn't long till I began to lose weight rapidly, and I noticed that eliminating foods wasn't working. Doctor visits and testing began as the weight loss and inability to eat continued. Worry turned into fear. Fear turned into frustration. Frustration turned into anger. Months went by but the doctor finally found the culprit and I had gallbladder surgery. The surgery went well, but it didn't solved the problem. I am still losing weight. I'm in a lot of pain. My body rejects food, trouble is, I love food! And I am now facing a potentially serious illness that makes everything more complicated. 

Worry, fear, frustration and anger are anything but reasonable. But the Holy Spirit says they're not acceptable.

I know what Scriptures says about suffering but it wasn't until now that I've been able to see the beauty of its application. Studying Job's life, for example, helped me see that God's purpose for enduring physical suffering is bringing me closer to Him. Indeed, as the Psalmist says, "God is near the brokenhearted" (Psalm 34:18). Through Paul, I see that the promised peace is greater than understanding my trial (Phil. 4:7). Paul also taught me that I can be "well content [even] in distress  (2 Cor. 12:10), because, at the end of the day, life is a mist and everything I am going through is temporary (James 4:14). So, when I was challenged to consider what I wanted more:  to ease the pain or to glorify God with it, I had to question whether I truly trust God. 

I've decided I do want to bring glory to God through my trials. I want to trust Him. I want to trust that He will indeed bring glory to Himself through me and that He is my salvation. I want to live with the perspective that this is all temporary and that everything will be redeemed in the kingdom come. All the food I can no longer eat, I will enjoy once again in a pain-free resurrected body. I want to, in the better days and harder, live with a view toward the New heavens and New earth. Yet with all of this resolve, it does not escape me that I am still living in a broken, sinful body. So, in the hard days, when the pain is bad and the challenges are difficult, would I prayerfully seek my community -my husband, my church, my family- to keep me accountable of this commitment and remind me of eternity.

I pray that you, whether you face it now or later, remember that there is no better way to live this decaying life than with a view to eternity.