An Expected Future
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV) 

The short-lived pains of this life are creating for us an eternal glory that does not compare to anything we know here. All of our troubles are overwhelming to us unless they are compared to the only truth that puts them in the proper perspective:

Our troubles are lightweight. They’re momentary. That stuff that’s keeping you up all night? That’s lightweight stuff. It is momentary if you compare it to the weight of God’s glory right now.

• Right now we are the target of the enemy, but right now we are also honored by God.
• Right now we are the central focus of spiritual attack, but right now we are also the central focus of divine embrace.
• Right now, we are culturally hated and despised, but right now we are beloved—and when you weigh one versus the other, there is no comparison

What is the Bible’s answer to the uncertainty of this present reality? Here’s the answer:

Live, child of God, in the power of your certain future. We have no reason to despair despite the fact that our outer humanity is falling apart and decaying. Our inner humanity is breathing in new life every day.

So we do not set our sights on the things we can see with our eyes because all of that is fleeting; it will eventually fade away. Instead, we focus on things we cannot see, which live on and on. In fact, heaven and earth shall pass away, but His Word shall abide forever.

The very mention of a promised future is the revelation that the present reality is not the end.

It is but a passage, a gateway to what He invites us to live with, which is an expected future.