As a follower of the Lord, look not to the things of this world that you can only see. But look to the ways of the Lord, things that are to come after this life, that are unseen. For God is in control of your life. He has planned out every aspect: the good, the bad, and the ugly. He has prepared each one as a preparation for the next. Each builds upon another to increase that which may be credited to your eternal account.
Every action, word, and thought of the Lord’s servant will one day be weighed in the balance. They will be put on God’s scale to see their true worth. Test what you are doing and why you are doing it. Make sure it is for the right reason and not for the things of this world. Be bold for the Lord and not for yourself or the applause of man. But for eternal reward, God will give, and that His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Now, if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15
Though you will suffer and go through tough and challenging times, this is God’s will for you. He is continually preparing you for what is ahead. A child in grade school does not stay in 1st grade their entire life. The teacher constantly drives them to strain and struggle to learn new principles. One principle is built upon the next, moving from 1st-grade knowledge to the 2nd and on until graduation. It is a steady learning curve. Every year, a new level of difficulty in learning will prepare you for the next.
Also, God prepares His children for each level, one step at a time. He who stops learning or declares that they have made it to the top has stopped doing their homework, and it is guaranteed that the teacher will not be pleased. Keep seeking to please your teacher, the Lord God. Each trial and struggle has a purpose and will help move you to the next level, where God wants you.
And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
Your purpose is not primarily to do the natural things of life. Though you must work, move, and function here physically, dealing with all that comes with it. But your primary purpose is to listen, follow, and obey the Lord. To seek to accomplish His will, which brings eternal reward. God desires that you seek to save the lost, that they may turn from the wickedness of their hearts and turn to the Lord for salvation, that they may be saved from an eternity of suffering.
Do everything with eternity in mind to please the Lord in all your ways. Humble yourself to serve Jesus, and though you may be seen as nothing here on Earth, God will place you high as the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. Keep on storing up treasure in Heaven. Hidden away as in jars of clay that they may be revealed in Glory, to be praised and lifted high by the host of Heaven.
But we have treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:7-11, 16-18
The Soul Sower 