Designed to Take Heart in Hardship

In order to take heart in hardship, it's helpful to remember God is doing this renewing inside each and every Christ follower, each and every day, as we open ourselves up to him and invite him to have his way in us. Paul then goes on to say in verse 17 that to take heart in hardship we have to remember that no matter how intense or long lasting our present hardships are, the intensity and duration of the glories of heaven completely and totally outdo them.

In verse 17 Paul repeats the word we get our word "hyperbole" from twice. By repeating that word twice Paul says in the strongest way possible that the duration and intensity of the hardships we encounter in this life are far, far outweighed by the length and intensity of the eternal glories of heaven.

So, with these two realities in view-God's daily renewing and heaven's outweighing glories-Paul encourages us to take heart in hardship by holding onto heaven. Don't fixate on the temporary hardship of life, fixate on the eternal glories of heaven! Holding onto the unseen promises of the eternal, helps us to deal with the real hardships we face today.