What's the biggest thing you're struggling with right now, at this very moment? What about this same date last year? Three years ago? Five? Ten? It gets a little hazy, right? Even if you can actually remember, doesn't it seem like small potatoes compared with the pressing concerns of today? I say all of this not to trivialize your problems (or mine), but to point out a truth: much of what we fret and go gray over resolves and fades. Our struggles (thankfully) are temporary. But, even though we know the fleeting nature of our problems, we live in unhealthy patterns of stress and anxiety.

The greater context of our verse (Corinthians 4:16-18) gives us great insight into how a simple refocusing can relieve our stress and restore our hope. We are told not to lose heart despite our troubles, but to daily renew our minds, realigning our hearts with what is true of us in Christ. And, by considering the eternal weight of glory that is yet to be revealed (the unseen), our struggles (the seen) become “light and momentary” to us. God wants to lighten your burden by helping you see his unseen hand in your life.

How could fixing your gaze on “the unseen” give you better perspective of your burdens?

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 4:18