the BIGGER picture.

    So many times I think of trials that come up in my life, and they seem so big. Like they will just keep coming and never end. But I realized something that I've realized in other trying circumstances...when hard things happen in my life, it makes me rely on God. I rely on Him when things are going good too, but going through times in your life when you absolutely don't know what the next step is going to be...that makes you have to put your hand in His and know that He's the only thing that's going to lead you out of the darkness.

    Another thing I realized was when I was reading 2 Corinthians 4:17 tonight. It says, "For our light affliction, which is but a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are not seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (NKJV).  I noticed almost right away how it says "light affliction". My immediate thought was, "My trials aren't 'light'!" The thoughts to immediately follow that one were, "But...look at the whole verse. What are these trials being compared to?"  My life on earth really is but a moment; and the affliction I go through is but a moment of that. So I started seeing how that moment of a moment really is nothing compared to "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory".



   Something else that I started thinking about were the people who have worse trials than I do. One example would be the people living in third-world countries. The people who haven't even heard about God. And what about the people whose lives have been forever changed by the recent natural disasters in the eastern United States? Most of these people have lost everything they own, or maybe even a family member or friend.

   Yes, my trials affect me and I need God to help me through them. Yes, God cares just as much for my worries, big or small, as He does for the destruction and loss being faced around the world. But I think I need to stop and think about the bigger picture when I am overwhelmed by tough situations, and know that "...weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." (Psalm 60:5, NKJV).