Obscured by Clouds / 拨云见月

[Dexu Xia]

Obscured by Clouds

We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. 2 Corinthians 4:18

A rare supermoon appeared in November 2016—the moon in its orbit reached its closest point to the earth in over sixty years and so appeared bigger and brighter than at other times. But for me that day the skies were shrouded in gray. Although I saw photos of this wonder from friends in other places, as I gazed upward I had to trust that the supermoon was lurking behind the clouds.

The apostle Paul faced many hardships but believed that what is unseen will last forever. He said how his “momentary troubles” achieve “an eternal glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Thus he could fix his eyes “not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,” because what is unseen is eternal (v. 18). Paul yearned that the Corinthians and our faith would grow, and although we suffer, that we too would trust in God. We might not be able to see Him, but we can believe He is renewing us day by day (v. 16).

I thought about how God is unseen but eternal when I gazed at the clouds that day, knowing that the supermoon was hidden but there. And I hoped the next time I was tempted to believe that God was far from me, I would fix my eyes on what is unseen

拨云见月

原来我们不是顾念所见的，乃是顾念所不见的。-哥林多后书4章18节

在2016年11月，夜空出现了罕见的超级月亮。这是近60多年来，月球在运行的轨道中与地球最接近的时候，因此显得特别大又特别亮。可惜当天我所看到的，只是被层层乌云笼罩的夜空。还好其他地方的朋友拍下了这奇异景观传给我，因此虽然我看不见这超级月亮，但我可以相信那奇异景观就隐藏在云层后面。

使徒保罗曾面对许多艰辛和困境，但他深信所不见的才是永远长存的。保罗说他“这至暂至轻的苦楚”，是为了要成就“永远的荣耀”（哥林多后书4章17节）。因此，他定睛注视的不是看得见的，而是所不见的，因为所不见的才是永恒的（18节）。保罗渴望哥林多教会的信徒和我们都能信靠上帝，虽然受苦，信心却得以成长。我们或许无法看见上帝，但可以坚信上帝能使你我的内心一天新似一天（16节）。

那天，我看着灰暗的夜空，我知道天上确实有个超级月亮，只是被厚厚的乌云遮蔽了。这让我想到，虽然我看不见上帝，但祂却是亘古长存的。下次当我感到上帝离我很远时，盼望我仍能全心仰望那位我看不见的上帝。

亲爱的上帝，有时我觉得祢离我很远。
求祢帮助我无论是否能感受到祢的同在，
都能相信祢永远与我相近的真理。

对你而言，何谓注视那看不见的呢？
信靠耶稣如何帮助你面对生活中的艰难？