ASLC Devotions-Thursday

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

16So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17For this slight
momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18because we look not at what can be seen but at
what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

As a physical therapist, I work with patients who are suffering from strokes, spinal cord injuries, brain tumors, or a myriad of other neurological disorders. When I tell people what I do for a living, many comment on what depressing work it must be. But generally it isn’t depressing. The patients
make progress and get great excitement out of achieving even the simplest of milestones—getting out of a chair, taking a step on their own, wiggling their toes. This excitement is fuel to help them continue on the road to recovery, motivating them to meet more challenging goals.

Except when they don’t.

Some patients suffer from strokes so severe, or diseases for which there is no cure, that they do not make progress. Strength fades, muscles atrophy, and the outer nature wastes away. It would be easy for them to lose heart. It is easy for all of us to lose heart as we face afflictions, heartbreak, illness, and the struggles of every day.

While weights and treadmills and cycles build our outer strength, God tells us that facing our struggles and afflictions is the exercise we need to prepare us for glory beyond all measure. And so we do not lose heart.

Karen Goodlow

For more information, visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org Join us Sunday for worship 8:30 and 11, with Education Hour at 9:45. Remember to "spring forward" with your clock by an hour so you won't be late.