17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!18 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.
ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
God never wastes suffering. Trials work for us, not against us (Jas 1:2-5). If we trust God and surrender to Him, trials will produce patience, perseverance and maturity in the lives of our family. If we rebel and fight against our circumstances, we will remain impatient, impulsive and immature. God allows trials so He can build character into our lives. Warren Wiersbe gives a great analogy, "God can grow a mushroom overnight, but it takes many years - and many storms - to build a mighty oak."
It takes an eternal perspective to see beyond today to eternity. Your kids are not likely to be able to do it without your gentle, guiding hand. As you empathetically walk through trials with them, you can model the faith, hope, and love that allow you to look at tough situations as opportunities to grow and develop, and to be more like Christ.
An eternal perspective gives us the ability to see beyond temporary trials.
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