“Why do you stand afar off, O Lord? Why do you hide Yourself in times of trouble? David writes in Psalm 10:1. What Paul describes as “momentary light affliction” in 2 Corinthians 4:17 never feels “light” and it is rarely “momentary” in our perception of time. Yet viewed from God’s perspective it is both.

Times of testing come in every Christian’s life. They are always bewildering, making us wonder if God is there and if He really understands. Ultimately, though, we find that He has always been present, watching and listening. Will we respond as He desires? After all, it’s all for our benefit, since the Scripture goes on to say that it is “producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” We need merely to “look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen” (v.18).