LOOKING BEYOND THE PHYSICAL

LOOKING BEYOND THE PHYSICAL

Man’s awareness about the events around him depends upon the background against which he sees them. The atheist, stalwartly denying the existence of God, has his entire life coloured by this idea. In his thinking, the creation of the world occurred by chance and the whole realm of nature exists with no regard for an infinite mind. He views the tragedies of life as a huge blunder. Inevitably, a cloud of gloom settles over his entire existence, for he has no eye of faith to see the eternal life beyond the grave. The Christian, on the other hand, believes that the worlds were framed by the Word of God; in every incident of life, he hears the silent voice of nature speaking in everlasting praise of its Creator.

Paul endured life’s tribulations because of his ability to look beyond the physical, his environment. Like us today, Paul lived in a world of wickedness, immorality and corruption, persecutions, and severe trials which would test anyone’s faith. Since Paul could see the unseen through the gloom, his life took on a different nature. Stephen, subjected to the mocking of evil men, looked at the unseen and saw the Lord (Acts 7:55). Silas, though imprisoned with Paul and in pain, could yet look beyond the physical. This spirit is needed by every child of God. To live hopeful in a world of hopelessness, one must desire to look into the realm of the invisible and exchange this realm for the present circumstance. Every child of God must operate in the Spirit, if you are giving an opportunity of seeing events around you one minute ahead, you will lead your world, and this is possible if one work towards it.

Paul’s ceaseless labours to preach Christ found the apostle working in harmony with God’s purposes. God’s will was his will. It is a tragedy when people find themselves out of harmony with God’s intention. The prayer of a Christian is “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). God’s will is the Christian’s will. Paul lived with a view to the certainty of the judgment day. He wrote, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10). These, then, are the unseen things at which Paul could look: (1) the promise of God to save people, (2) the certainty of the coming judgment, and (3) the eternal home of glory.

By looking at the unseen, Paul was able to prevent discouragement which would have caused him to faint in the midst of great responsibilities (2 Corinthians 4:1). Anyone can become discouraged. Regardless of how good our motives are and how pure our lives may be, opposition can settle upon us from within or without. An attempt to do good is usually met by opposition. So it was with Paul, beginning immediately after his conversion (Acts 9:21–30). In Jerusalem, his fellow countrymen rejected him for leaving the Jewish cause and turning to Christ. The disciples, remembering the zeal with which he had persecuted Christians, were sceptical of his sincerity. Paul’s confidence in the Lord drove him onward to do the Lord’s will; he could look beyond adversity into the unseen.

Further, Paul’s vision of the unseen daily renewed his inward man. As energy from the sun is taken up by garden plants and transformed into fruit, energy dedicated to serving the Lord is transformed into a Christ-like character and ultimately results in glory to God. The one who daily applies himself to doing the service of the Lord daily becomes more like his Lord. As Paul served God, his afflictions resulted in “an eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17; Romans 8:18). Our deepest heartaches are insignificant in comparison to the glory ahead. All Christians must desire and develop the ability to look beyond the physical; you too can see the Heaven open.

Word Affirmation: “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." – 1 Peter 5:10 (Don't just say it, mean it!)

“The one who daily applies himself to doing the service of the Lord daily becomes more like his Lord."

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