by Sharman Monroe
This post originally appeared in 2018 on the Anointed Women In Christ Blog. Given the current pandemic and our need to look toward the Lord, it is good to remind ourselves that God already knew this was going to happen, He already has the solution in place and He will get us through this…all for His glory!
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
2 Corinthians 4:17 (NKJV)
I was having lunch with a friend and we were talking about when we have a problem, we believe God has already worked it out, but waiting for the resolution to show up can be hard. We want the resolution right now. Then my friend quoted the above scripture. I nodded in agreement. When I got home I decided to delve into the verse, to go to the bottom of pool so to speak, to really understand what God is teaching us.
The words “light affliction” caught my attention because they seem to be in opposition of each other so I pulled out my concordance to examine the scriptural meaning of them. The word “light” comes from the Greek word elaphros, which means “easy, light”. The word “affliction” comes from the Greek word thlipsis, which means “pressure; anguish; trouble.” Okay. . . an easy pressure. I get that, but an easy anguish, an easy trouble? How can this be? Then I remembered that my pastor teaches that we should see things through God’s eyes and we should ask God to show us things from His perspective. I asked.
God sees our problems as easy. Why? Because He is supreme. He is omnipotent. He is omniscient. He is all-present. He knows the resolution years and years before we were ever born. Nothing surprises Him. There is nothing He can’t change or fix.
God’s Word says we are to cast all our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7). The word “care” comes from the Greek word merimna, which means “anxiety”. God says to cast all, not just the spiritual, of our anxieties on Him. All includes all our financial, relational, emotional, physical, and mental anxieties or problems—everything! He can handle them; He is omnipotent. He’s not ashamed or taken aback by any of our problems. He knew before we were born that we would have them; He’s omniscient.
God’s desire for us to rely on Him is repeated over and over in the Word. Psalm 55:22 (AMPC) says, “Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you.” Proverbs 3:5 (AMPC) says, “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.” And Jesus drove the point home with a visual when he said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30 NKJV). A yoke is a device joining two animals together usually made of a crosspiece which separately encloses the heads of the animals such that, where one animal goes the other must follow. Jesus says we are to be yoked to Him and let Him lead us.
The final word in 2 Corinthians 4:17 that caught my attention was “moment”. Our problems don’t usually last a moment. They go on for days, weeks, months and sometimes years. The word “moment” here comes from the Greek word parautika which means “to flow by”. Seriously? To flow by? Yes, from God’s perspective, our problems do flow pass Him because He’s all-powerful and knows the resolution before they show up even if the problems are of our own making. Just think . . . if you purchased an item in May for $500 using your credit card, and knew you had an extra $500 coming to you in June, you won’t be shocked when your June credit card bill came in with a $500 balance and you would have the money in hand to pay the bill in full. The June bill would just flow passed you.
But then why does it take days, weeks, months and sometimes years for us to see the resolution? God’s timing always prevails. “With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 2:8 NKJV) More importantly, during our waiting, He is conforming us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). He is developing our trust in Him.
Therefore, because I know my problem is an easy pressure for God, I can focus on God (Matthew 6:33), and wait patiently for it to flow pass me (Psalm 37:7). God is omnipotent and has already worked out the resolution for my good (Romans 8:28). God is not trying to destroy me; He has good plans for me (Ephesians 2:10). Life and problems are easy.