Temporary

I was reading 2 Corinthians today and came across this verse:

"while we do not look at things which are seen,
but at the things that are not seen.
For the things which are seen are temporary,
but the things that are not seen are eternal."
- 2 Cor. 4:18

This is SUCH a powerful verse, just prior to this Paul is talking about the excitement of dying to his desires so Jesus can live through him, that "we are pressed but not crushed, persecuted not abandoned", explaining the victory we have. That God loves us so much not matter what our circumstances He is never distant. Then Paul writes "therefore we don't lose heart" and we enter into talking about how everything is fading away.

Our bodies are decaying, but daily we are experiencing God in new and powerful ways, we are only further on our journey with Him than the day before. And then Paul takes this imagery and moves the metaphor into every other area of life. Everything that is seen brings momentary pleasure, but what is unseen will last forever. I have an unorthodox friend, one of the most bizarre poeple I have ever met, he is brilliant and funny, but socially awkward. I love the guy, he gives me amazing insight sometimes. And he was sharing with me this profound revelation the other day. It was this:

"Everything in life is just crap. Our bodies decay into fertilizer, like crap. We eat and it turns to crap. We save money and eat and that turns to crap..." etc...

I laughed and then realized God was trying to get my attention. I have been really worried about my finances lately. Never in my time here at YWAM have I been this tight financially. It is quite stressful. God is providing every month just enough to cover my house bills, but for food I haven't been able to make ends meet a couple times.
And I was thinking about this and realizing that this toil is putting me in a situation where the unseen is magnified. I am relying on God like never before. How temporary all of the physical things in our lives are and how powerful and eternal the lessons I'm learning, the impact of the ministry I'm involved with is in peoples lives, how eternal their impact on the nations of the world is.
But most importantly I've been thinking how eternal God's word and promise is. And I am called here by God and God's call does not pass away, I stand on that in faith. In faith because it takes a lot more balls to stand on the unseen than the seen.
I invoke a challenge to all of us, to stand not on our things, on our money, on our security's, but on the unseen. How powerful it is to stand in God's marvelous light and walk in His ways! Not by strength, nor by might...but by His spirit do we live and move and have our being. We do not live on bread alone! Praise God for that, haha.

The other revelation I got from this train of thought was the power of prayer. Seeing lives changed is exciting, and as well it should be. Seeing someone breaking down and forgiving their father who abused them in unimaginable ways, or seeing someone laughing and weeping free from depression and experiencing Christ's love for the first time, or even the simple first time each student experiencing hearing God's voice and receives direction from Him. These are exciting things for us, however, what are these but the physical signs. What happens when these students leave this centre, a greenhouse of spiritual growth. Am I committed to the unseen? To praying for their well-being. Or even my staff who I am responsible for, do I pray for them? Am I committed in faith to them, or do I live moment to moment on the physical manifestation of God in their lives. Never sowing in the unseen. I am guilty of relying on the seen. How many of us can say the same.

70 - 80 years seems long, but I assure you we can be excited that it isn't. That can't be measured in comparison to eternity. In fact infinity divided by anything is 0. Therefore our lives on earth are nothing, but they hold eternal worth. Simply because the eternity we hold can be given to someone else, or several others. While this life is nothing, we hold in our hands in this 70-80 years several eternity's.

I'm sorry that this may be a confusing update, but I am trying to be concise, because I love tangents. I'm trying to impart a revelation I have received to others as linear as possible. Having said all of this I have been committed to praying for many of you though you may not have known it. I have been praying more than ever in my life, for friends, family, individuals who are sick at home (I'm sure they know who they are). And I thank all of you for your support. But I petition you on these lines for your prayer and support in this time. With this new school starting, my staff arriving, finances being tight. I would love to have my family from home sowing into the unseen of my life and ministry. It is the single most significant contribution I get.

Thank you so much for the blessings you shower on me. I love you all greatly! Be assured, my prayers are with you, and I know I am enabled completely by all of you! Thank you, and Bless you!

Peace, Love and Prayers!! ;)
Adam