My pastor’s sermon on what’s permanent and what’s passing resonated with me this week. So I wanted to expound upon this topic that hopefully is relatable to others as well. Pastor Furtick preached from 1 Corinthians 13 which is considered the “love chapter” in the Bible but served it to us with a different twist. Most focus on the part of the chapter which states “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” However, he began in verse eight, “But where there are prophecies, they will fail; where there are tongues, they will cease; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.” So what’s really more important – what’s permanent or what’s passing? The permanent is definitely the most important, but we still have to live and work with what’s passing.

I don’t know about you, but for me each day that I wake up I struggle to “get up and get going.” Like most of us, I have to go to work to make a living. However, it has become increasingly more difficult as I battle Diabetes and a chronic autoimmune disease, Sjogren’s Syndrome, that causes inflammation and a lot of joint and muscle pain in my body. It also causes dry mouth, dry eyes and severely dry skin that requires ointments to keep it from breaking down and it messes with my memory. Though the worst part of this stupid disease to me is the crazy fatigue that sleep doesn’t cure, I also loathe the neuropathy that causes numbness in my hands and a stabbing sensation in my feet. Sometimes just managing and finishing the simplest of tasks seems like a major ordeal. However, all these things are passing. So I won’t let them define my life forever because I know I have to focus on the permanent things that really matter.

When our lives become too busy we often lose sight of what’s really important. It’s a fight every day for our hearts to stay connected to God and each other. To stay in alignment in our lives we have to train our brains to think differently. In 1 Cor. 13:11 the bible states “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I become a man (woman) I put away childish things.” It takes time to get our lives straight but we can’t stay where we are in what’s passing. We can’t stay in the trauma and in the grief. We have to look at what’s permanent, not what’s passing.

We must stop sacrificing what is permanent to satisfy what is passing. We can’t put things in our bodies that are a temporary fix when they affect our future negatively. We can’t satisfy our flesh with something or someone that is passing through. Is it really worth losing what we have permanently? Why sacrifice our character for a fleeting moment or a quick fix? When we turn away from childish (selfish) ways, we don’t go back to things that are behind us –past failures, past relationships, etc. That is all passing, it’s not permanent. Are we mature enough to walk through the madness to get to our miracle? Pastor Furtick stated “What you won’t do can’t heal you.” If we won’t let go of the past and we refuse to let go of worldly ways, then we will never heal and reach our permanent place.

I know my life has not been perfect but God has always been present. I also know I have to pass through the pain, the heartache and all the disappointments to get to the permanent promises of God. The unique gifts that He has given me are for His service alone and not for my status that I should boast in my own ability. I know that I am nothing without Him. Amazingly Jesus already did the hard part for all of us. He passed through hell itself to ascend to heaven to prepare a permanent home for us. From the time we were children all those things were just part of the passing and now we are coming into the permanent. So we must hold tight to those permanent things and realize that whatever we are going through right now – it will pass. But only what’s permanent will last forever.