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

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. – 1 John 4:4 NKJV.

Emergency services in England scrambled to help after receiving a call from a young man who was hanging from the edge of a sea cliff. Fire crews, coastguard, and police officers all responded and searched the coast for the man. After searching for several hours, an intoxicated 19-year-old man was finally found about a mile away from the coast on a slope next to where he had parked his car. (Metro.co.uk 02.23.10)

Customs in a Frankfurt, Germany airport temporarily confiscated what was thought to be a “blood diamond” worth 2.2 million pounds (3.4 million dollars). The wannabe smuggler from Angola was detained while what appeared to be an illegally mined diamond was examined. Everyone was surprised, especially the wannabe smuggler, when it was found that it was only a fake diamond worth at the most 18 pounds (28 dollars). The smuggler apparently had paid a substantial amount of money for the fake diamond. (Orange News 02.22.10)

How many times has it happened to you? You thought something was true, but later found out that it was not true; or something you thought was real, was not real. The young man in England was surely convinced that he was hanging from an edge of a cliff, and about to die. The Angolan smuggler thought he had a diamond that was worth millions; instead, he lost a fortune. What a shock when the truth is revealed!

There is another deception being perpetrated upon many of us right now. This world we are living in may appear to be very real. We are told that this is reality. However, this is not the real, reality. As we are told in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” All of these things that are so very real to us right now on this earth will some day pass away. Our earthly worries will someday no longer be of importance. Because these earthly things are temporary.

In addition, we have so many things that cause us stress, cause us worry, and cause us pain. Much of this stress, worry, and pain is the result of perception. We perceive that we are all alone in the face of all these things that are pressing in upon us. However, that is not the real, reality for the believer. What is the reality for a believer? “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).” The Spirit of God resides in every believer (1 Corinthians 3:16) and “...we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:27).”

Never forget as a child of God you are not by yourself. God lives inside of you, and through Him you are always more than a conqueror. Let us look beyond these earthly things surrounding us to the real, reality, to “the things which are not seen.”