What does it mean for you to fix your eyes on what is unseen? How does your hope in Jesus help you face the difficulties of life?

對你而言，何謂注視那看不見的呢？信靠耶穌如何幫助你面對生活中的艱難？

We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.2 Corinthians 4:18

原來我們不是顧念所見的，乃是顧念所不見的。-哥林多後書4章18節

A rare supermoon appeared in November 2016—the moon in its orbit reached its closest point to the earth in over sixty years and so appeared bigger and brighter than at other times. But for me that day the skies were shrouded in gray. Although I saw photos of this wonder from friends in other places, as I gazed upward I had to trust that the supermoon was lurking behind the clouds.

在2016年11月，夜空出現了罕見的超級月亮。這是近60多年來，月球在執行的軌道中與地球最接近的時候，因此顯得特別大又特別亮。可惜當天我所看到的，只是被層層烏雲籠罩的夜空。還好其他地方的朋友拍下了這奇異景觀傳給我，因此雖然我看不見這超級月亮，但我可以相信那奇異景觀就隱藏在雲層後面。

The apostle Paul faced many hardships but believed that what is unseen will last forever. He said how his “momentary troubles” achieve “an eternal glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Thus he could fix his eyes “not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,” because what is unseen is eternal (v. 18). Paul yearned that the Corinthians and our faith would grow, and although we suffer, that we too would trust in God. We might not be able to see Him, but we can believe He is renewing us day by day (v. 16).

使徒保羅曾面對許多艱辛和困境，但他深信所不見的才是永遠長存的。保羅說他“這至暫至輕的苦楚”，是為了要成就“永遠的榮耀”（哥林多後書4章17節）。因此，他定睛注視的不是看得見的，而是所不見的，因為所不見的才是永恆的（18節）。保羅渴望哥林多教會的信徒和我們都能信靠上帝，雖然受苦，信心卻得以成長。我們或許無法看見上帝，但可以堅信上帝能使你我的內心一天新似一天（16節）。

I thought about how God is unseen but eternal when I gazed at the clouds that day, knowing that the supermoon was hidden but there. And I hoped the next time I was tempted to believe that God was far from me, I would fix my eyes on what is unseen.

那天，我看著灰暗的夜空，我知道天上確實有個超級月亮，只是被厚厚的烏雲遮蔽了。這讓我想到，雖然我看不見上帝，但祂卻是亙古長存的。下次當我感到上帝離我很遠時，盼望我仍能全心仰望那位我看不見的上帝。

Dear God, sometimes I feel you are far away from me.Help me whether I can feel your presence or not.Believe in the truth that you are always close to me.

親愛的上帝，有時我覺得禰離我很遠。求禰幫助我無論是否能感受到禰的同在，都能相信禰永遠與我相近的真理。

2 Corinthians 4:16-18NIV

4 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 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.

哥林多後書 4:16-18

4 所以我們不喪膽，外體雖然毀壞，內心卻一天新似一天。 17 我們這至暫至輕的苦楚，要為我們成就極重無比、永遠的榮耀。 18 原來我們不是顧念所見的，乃是顧念所不見的，因為所見的是暫時的，所不見的是永遠的。

INSIGHT

靈糧透視

Paul’s call to ministry included the call to suffer (Acts 9:15–16). In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul described extensively his hardships. He was “hard pressed on every side . . . persecuted . . . struck down . . . always being given over to death” (vv. 8–11). Already adequately sustained by God’s sovereign power and sufficient grace (vv. 7–9), Paul was spurred on by God’s surpassing glory (vv. 16–18). Even though physically ravaged, God was renewing him every day. With eternity in view, Paul considered his sufferings as “momentary” because they would not follow him into his eternal life, and “light” because the reward that awaited him was far weightier (v. 17). Like Paul, we can look beyond our current troubles and see the “glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (v. 17 nlt).

保羅不僅蒙召去各處傳道，還蒙召為主受苦（使徒行傳9章15-16節）。在哥林多後書第4章，保羅詳細描述了他的艱辛：“四面受敵，……遭逼迫，……打倒了，……常為耶穌被交於死地”（8-11節）。但上帝莫大的能力和豐富的恩典始終支撐著保羅（7-9節），使他因上帝極重無比的榮耀而得著激勵（16-18節）。即使保羅經常身陷險境，但上帝卻使他每日都得到更新。保羅從永恆的角度來看，認為他的苦楚是“暫時的”，因為這些苦楚都不會隨他進入永生；而且也是“至輕的”，因為等待他的是那極重無比的獎賞（17節）。像保羅一樣，我們也可以超越眼前的難處，看見那“極重無比、永遠的榮耀”（17節）。

編輯：Sarah

校對：Snow