VERSE OF THE WEEK
“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! 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.”
On May 5, 1995, the Dallas – Fort Worth area was struck by a hailstorm that has since been named the Mayfest storm. The storm resulted in $2 billion in damages that made it one of the costliest hailstorms in U.S. history. People were celebrating at the outdoor Mayfest celebration in Fort Worth when softball sized hail began to fall. Over 400 people at Mayfest were injured. Cars and buildings suffered extreme damage as the hail smashed through windows. No one expected this storm to be this severe and cause this amount of damage.
On that day, I was headed toward Fort Worth for my first date with a blonde headed girl that sat in front of me in a seminary class. I saw the black cloud coming, but I had waited all semester to ask this girl out and I was not about to turn around. After driving through hail, I picked her up at her apartment. We began to drive out but quickly turned around and went back to her place due to high water. We waited for the storms to pass, and my wife Andrea and I finally got to experience our first date by going out for dinner and a movie. The storm was unexpected and had been intense and dangerous, but it eventually passed and our relationship has thrived ever since. In fact, because our first date was so memorable, it has only strengthened our relationship as we retell the story over and over again.
I believe that Paul, the author of Corinthians, was thinking of the actual storms that he had experienced when he wrote this verse. He had experienced great fear and anxiety due to the real storms he had encountered. Yet he knew that his faith was based on Jesus and it created a hope that lasted forever. Everyone experiences troubles. Some are storms that create a lot of damage but quickly move out of their lives. Others are long-term situations that seem to never end. While troubles are never pleasant, they strengthen our relationship with God as we learn to be dependent on Him. Are you experiencing a storm in your life? Continue to fix your eyes on Jesus as He will provide a hope that will overcome and last forever!
Read 1 Corinthians 4:1-18