When the Body Fails but the Soul Grows Strong: An Eternal Perspective on Suffering (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

There’s something uniquely difficult about physical suffering. Pain, weakness, and aging can leave us discouraged. Satan understood this well. After taking everything from Job—his possessions and children—he still believed he hadn’t touched the area that mattered most. “Stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face” (Job 2:4-5). And yet, Job didn’t curse God. The apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 that while “our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” This is behind an eternal perspective on suffering: even as our bodies grow weaker, our faith grows stronger. https://youtu.be/YSep0tx71cc Table of contentsWe Don’t Lose Heart Because Our Spirit Is StrengthenedThe Two Ways We Grow SpirituallyTake Advantage of Meetings with Senior Saints Finishing WellWe Don’t Lose Heart Because Every Trial Is Only A “Light Momentary Affliction” In Light Of EternityWe Don’t Lose Heart Because Of Our Heavenly BlessingsWe Don’t Lose Heart If We Look Forward To Our Heavenly HomeLot and Abraham: Two Men Looking for CitiesWe Don’t Lose Heart Because We’ll Be Raised With ChristLosses Throughout Our Lives, but Always Having Our Bodies, Right?We Don’t Lose Heart If We Praise God During TrialsThe Eternal Perspective on Suffering Suffering takes many forms: mental, emotional, spiritual, but few trials compare to the slow decline of our bodies. Think about everything Satan did to Job. First, he took all his possessions—the oxen, donkeys, sheep, camels, and servants. In the second attack, Satan took Job's sons and daughters. If you weren’t familiar with Job, what would you expect to be the most likely reason for Job to curse God? I would guess it would be the loss of his children. But after Job lost all his children and still hadn’t cursed God, Satan turned to Job’s health. Consider what he said to God: Job 2:4 Satan [said to] the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” Satan believed that if he could afflict Job’s body, he would curse God. Satan knows how difficult it is when we suffer physically. I think that’s why Paul says what he says: 2 Corinthians 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. The ESV refers to the "outer self," but other translations use terms such as "outward man" or "outer person." It’s referring to our physical bodies, which are “wasting away.” The NKJV says they are "perishing," and the NASB describes them as "decaying." All of these capture how we feel as we age and our bodies break down. When we endure physical suffering, or when our bodies begin to waste away, it is tempting, as the verse states, to lose heart. There are many kinds of suffering, but there is something unique about physical suffering and watching our bodies decline. We realize that each day, we worsen and move closer to our death. It can be discouraging to think, “I’m not getting any better. I feel worse today than I did yesterday. Everything is breaking down. Tomorrow I might feel worse than I do today.” This is why the verse mentions losing heart. But, ironically, says the opposite of what we would expect: “We do not lose heart.” So, why don’t we lose heart even as our physical bodies are wasting away? Here are six reasons! We Don’t Lose Heart Because Our Spirit Is Strengthened In verse 16, notice the beautiful contrast Paul makes: while “our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” We don’t like that our physical bodies age and break down, but while they do, our spirits are renewed or strengthened day by day. It’s like Paul says: “What does it matter if our body wastes away as long as our spirit gets stronger?” The Two Ways We Grow Spiritually Why does our spirit grow while our body deteriorates? The wasting away of our bodies is a trial, and trials are one of the two primary ways that we grow spiritually. I wish that we grew from being blessed, but while blessings are wonderful, there’s nothing in Scripture to say they help us grow. Instead, we grow from God’s Word: John 17:17 Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them (or grow them) in the truth; your word is truth.” Ephesians 5:26 states that Christ sanctifies and cleanses His bride, the church, through the washing of water with the word. And the other way we grow is from trials: James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. And few trials are tougher than watching our bodies waste away. But while the outward is fading, the inward is being strengthened and renewed. I have seen this happen many times over the years. Beautiful saints approach graduation, and we might expect them to struggle with their faith and perhaps question God. However, it seems their faith actually grows stronger as their bodies weaken. Take Advantage of Meetings with Senior Saints Finishing Well There are meetings that people would never miss. If they received an invitation from the President or the Queen of England, they would move heaven and earth to attend. But I would say that when you have the chance to meet with a senior saint nearing the end of their life, that is a meeting you should never miss. In fact, I don’t think it’s too much to say that you probably will never have any meetings in your life that offer you as much as these do, or that you will remember as vividly. I don’t know how many meetings I’ve had over the last 15 years here. I did the math yesterday, and if it’s five meetings per week, which is quite conservative, that’s 4000 meetings. I can’t remember 99% of those meetings, but I bet I can remember every sacred meeting I’ve had with saints approaching the finish line. When Katie and I returned from visiting Charlie and Peggy yesterday, we walked in, and one of the kids asked, “How was it?” Katie replied, “I’ll never forget it." That captures how you feel when you have the privilege of being with senior saints as they near the end of their race. We Don’t Lose Heart Because Every Trial Is Only A “Light Momentary Affliction” In Light Of Eternity 2 Corinthians 4:17 For (or because) this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. Katie and I really like Brian Regan. He has a joke about doctors. He says they can be very rude. They walk in and ask the first question, “What seems to be the problem?” as if there is nothing wrong, just as it seems to you. The question dismisses your suffering. This joke comes to mind when I read this verse. Paul says we are experiencing a “light momentary affliction.” It’s not that bad; no big deal. Could you imagine encouraging someone with this? “Hey, I know you’re going through this trial, and it seems terrible and maybe even excruciating, but I want to let you know it is only a light, momentary affliction.” If we were teaching people to counsel others, we would tell them not to say this. But it’s not some insensitive, oblivious, ignorant counselor saying it. It’s God saying it through Paul! So you say, “Well, maybe this is only about trials that are light and momentary versus ones that are terribly painful and difficult?” No, this is about trials that are terrible, painful, and difficult: 2 Corinthians 4:8 We are afflicted in every way (suffering every way you can imagine), but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for jesus' sake (living on the verge of death), so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us (so close to death they say it is at work in them), but life in you. Paul uses the word "we" because he’s also talking about his traveling companions. Being with Paul meant suffering greatly. So, how could Paul say they were experiencing light, momentary afflictions? He had an eternal perspective. It wasn’t so much about how he viewed his suffering as it was about how he saw his future. Let me say that again: It wasn’t so much about how he viewed his suffering but how he saw his future. He knew that someday all his suffering would end, and he would enjoy eternity, and this belief helped him see every trial as a light, momentary affliction. And he wants us to adopt this eternal perspective as well. Notice the repetition of the word "eternal": 2 Corinthians 4:17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. Without an eternal, heavenly perspective, all we see is an earthly, temporary one, so we view only the trials that are present. This makes every trial feel heavy and difficult, rather than light and fleeting. However, with an eternal perspective, even the worst trials become light and temporary afflictions. That may sound hard to believe, especially when you're in the middle of a tough trial, but it’s true. And if there’s one specific trial that can give us an eternal outlook, it's the wasting away of our bodies. We are constantly reminded of our own mortality and the fleeting nature of time....