Devotion

Pandora's Box Won't Last
So, we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.   --- 2 Corinthians 4:18

These are some uncertain times, aren't they? We have lived through many before. But this one is quite a game changer in that its strategy is not about coming, going, and being gone forever. The inevitable reality is that COVID-19 has disrupted lives, challenged lives, taken lives, and is hovering over the unlikely resumption of what we refer to as 'back to normal' living. If it were to go away and never return, we still would never return to normal living because the virus has robbed us of loved ones who claimed a place in our 'normal', and there is no replacement for their absence. The sicknesses and deaths caused by this virus have cast a vein of mourning within our souls unlike any we have ever experienced. Medical teams are stretched to an overextended maximum. Local, state, and national government leaders continue to be discombobulated. They have a lot to be considered in making budget resources work in such unpredictable times. People need to work, and our children need to receive their education. Mixed in with everything else - a plethora of disregarded human needs have risen to the forefront - and racial injustice has unmasked its guise. Pandora's box of problems is wide open and afflicting people worldwide. This is what we can see now. But we must lift our spiritual view beyond this temporary outlook and gaze at our everlasting future that beholds Jesus and all that He has promised us.  Be of strong courage amid today's troubles, for surely, the Lord Almighty will see us through!