Temporary.
It’s a gentle reminder.
It’s a stern warning.
It’s comfort, hope, and it’s freedom.
And, I’m finally starting to get it.
Whatever season I find myself in, whether it’s high or low, is temporary.
The mountaintop doesn’t last forever, so I might as well enjoy it.
Soak it up.
I can’t stay on the mountain. In this life, we keep moving forward to whatever lies ahead. I know that the next step I take may lead me into a valley.
The valley may take me to depths I’ve never known. I may experience pain, hurt feelings, confusion, rejection, and even silence.
It’s temporary too.
I can rest in that.
I can endure.
My troubles are momentary and are achieving “an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
My possessions are temporary.
Why should I gather so much stuff?
Why should I spend my valuable time, of which I have a limited supply, on acquiring more?
Freedom comes in realizing that the tangible things of this world are temporary. These things don’t define me or elevate my status. What I possess on this earth does not determine my value. And, I can’t take it with me when I go.
My physical life is temporary.
My “days on the earth are as a shadow”, but there’s a life beyond that is eternal (1 Chronicles 29:15).
Whatever I take up or give up must reflect the temporary state of this flesh and the eternity that waits for me. Nothing is too important or too valuable to risk losing my soul.
My soul will live on.
My spirit is eternal.
This earthly life is temporary. It’s merely a ‘blink of an eye’ when compared to eternity.
My world is temporary.
“What is seen is temporary” (2 Corinthians 7:18).
“The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).
But there is a place beyond this world that is more real and everlasting, more real than this third planet from the sun. There is a spiritual world that has been, and will still be, long after this present world passes away.
The “new heaven and new earth” are more real than this temporary world. The things that I do right now impact that eternal world. And, those are the things that really matter.
Jesus said in Matthew 6: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: (the temporary) “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: (the eternal) For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Anything I accomplish in this life will turn to nothing. Moth and rust eat it away, and thieves can break in and steal it away.
Why does all this temporary stuff matter so much to us?
Temporary, corruptible treasures are such a waste of time and devotion. The eternal treasures are so much more valuable.
If I can tear my mind away from the temporary and tap into what’s happening spiritually, I will be more in tune with the One who lives on the inside. I will be more aware of His Spirit, and the spiritual power we are created to wield.
I can pray like never before.
I can fight spiritual battles like never before.
I can make an eternal difference, one that will last forever.
Everything else is only temporary.
Temporary.
I’m finally starting to get it.
God help me embrace it.