2 Corinthians 4:16-18
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV
Remember — anxiety, anger happens when we think we need something that we actually don’t need. Lots of people don’t think they struggle with anxiety because they have a stereotypical view of what anxiety is. They don’t feel like they really deal with worry. They don’t fret much. But anxiety is much broader than that. And much more stealthy. Often it hides itself in our body in muscle tension. Elevated heart rate. Distracted mind. Anger fantasies.It usually happens when our old self (false self) gets triggered when it’s threatened, and it blocks our awareness of the security of God’s presence and love and lordship over everything in that moment.
Ephesians 4:22–24 ESV
In other words, anxiety is a sign that the insecure and idolatrous false self is demanding we cater to its “needs” instead of putting it off and dying to it like the Bible says. Most of our anxiety and tension and self protective relational dysfunctions are generated by this false self. The false self overshadows us from perceiving God’s presence and receiving God’s love and finding security in his Lordship in this moment. It keeps us stuck in repeated cycles of worry and insecurity and fear and feeling threatened. Our false self will never bring about true freedom in life.
So as it relates to this passage…Anxiety happens most when we’re fixing our eyes on our outer self and what is ultimately “wasting away,” and “temporary.” “Light and momentary troubles” in comparison to “an eternal weight of glory.” So much of the Christian life and what it means to live by faith is being able to see unseen realities.So we have to meditate using our imagination before we can live in this reality rather than losing heart in times of trouble — being able to fix our eyes on what is unseen and eternal. Being able to feel the weight of the true glory in our lives.
Yes, Paul also means the Genesis 3 realities of our bodies — they are “wasting away” in the thorns and thistles and dust and death of this world before our bodily resurrection and the renewal of all things. But he’s primarily talking about a mindset here. We could say that “outwardly” is the same as “earthly” — thinking with the mind of our old self rather than our new self — looking at life and our circumstances with a mind that ignores the presence and love and lordship of God. Focusing on the outward more than the inward. Priorities that are “wasting away” versus “renewed.” Seeing our troubles as weighty rather than as momentary compared to our eternal weight of glory in the restoration/resurrection. Fixing our eyes on what is just seen on the temporary surface rather than fixing our eyes on the weighty glory of the unseen.So think of your troubles right now. Your anxieties. The things that make you angry. Try to see those things with the mind of your new self instead of your old self.Using your imagination — Fix your eyes — SEE — your troubles as light and temporary inside this promise of God. Your troubles ARE ACHIEVING FOR YOU an eternal weight of glory. See the unseen using your biblically guided imagination.
Timestamps:02:49 - 18:44 Body Meditation18:57 - 30:06 Bible Meditation: Corinthians 4:16-1830:18 - 33:11
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