Groaning For Glory Series

Note: put a $20-bill up your sleeve for later use.

In The Polar Express, a boy, who has his doubts, boards a magical train on Christmas Eve, which is headed for the North Pole. As the train ascends a particularly steep hill, the boy, a girl, and the conductor are climbing from the top of the engine down into the coal car. Take a look (show video: The Polar Express Seeing Is Believing).

The conductor is telling them to watch for ice when the boy slips. The conductor grabs him just in time and swings him back on board, which reminds the conductor of his first trip on the Polar Express. As they make their way back in the train, they talk about what it really means to believe.

Conductor: Years ago, on my first Christmas Eve run, I was up on the roof making my rounds when I slipped on the ice myself. I reached out for a hand iron, but it broke off. I slid and fell. And yet, I did not fall off this train.

Girl: Someone saved you?

Conductor: Or something…

Girl: An angel.

Conductor: Maybe! (but said with the conviction of a Yes!)

Boy: Wait, wait! What did he look like? Did you see him?

Conductor: No sir. Sometimes seeing is believing. And sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see (The Polar Express, Warner Brothers, 200), written by Chris Van Allsberg and Robert Zemeckis, directed by Robert Zemeckis, 41:30 – 42:39; www.PreachingToday.com).

Sometimes, the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see. When your life is out of control and you don’t see a way out, you need to depend on the things you cannot see. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 2 Corinthians 4, 2 Corinthians 4, where the Apostle Paul describes the unseen things on which He depends in times of trouble.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 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 (ESV).

In 2 Corinthians 1:8, Paul wrote about his afflictions, that he was “so utterly burdened beyond [his] strength that [he] despaired of life itself.” His afflictions were beyond his ability to bear. Literally, they were extreme, far more than he could stand. But here, he says those afflictions are “light” and “momentary” compared to the glory that is coming, which is “beyond all comparison.” Literally that glory is “extreme to the extreme” (It’s the same word Paul used about his afflictions in chapter 1). Though his afflictions were “beyond” his ability to bear, the glory to come is way beyond any of those afflictions in comparison.

How can Paul say that? He can say it, because his focus is not on the afflictions he can see. His focus is on the glory he cannot see. In the same way, if you want the confidence to move forward in your times of trouble, learn to…

SEE THE UNSEEN.

Look to the invisible realities. Fix your attention not on your temporary troubles, but on the eternal glory beyond your troubles.

Researchers call it the “quiet eye.” It’s the focus that elite athletes have, an enhanced visual perception that allows the athlete to eliminate any distractions. Curiously, “quiet eye” appears to be particularly important at times of stress, preventing the athlete from “choking” at moments of high pressure.

Kinesiologist Dr. Joan Vickers began to suspect the secret of extraordinary performance lay in the way that elite athletes see the world. She hooked a group of professional golfers up to a device that precisely monitored their eye movements as they putted. She found an intriguing correlation: the better the player, the longer and steadier their gaze on the ball just before, and then during, their strike. Novices, by contrast, tended to shift their focus between different areas of the scene for shorter periods of time.

Most people have heard the advice to “keep your eye on the ball.” But Vickers’ research suggested something more intricate—The precise duration of the gaze correlates with an objective measure of sporting success (David Robson, “Why Athletes Need a ‘Quiet Eye,’” BBC.com, June 24, 2020; www.PreachingToday.com).

Now, that’s the kind of focus you need especially in times of stress. Don’t focus on the trouble. Focus on the triumph ahead. Fix your attention on the eternal glory beyond your temporary troubles.

Tracy is one of the worship leaders at her church, and one Sunday, as she sat at the piano, she talked about the difficult week she'd just been through. It was chaotic, she said—a mess of petty crises on top of a rash of minor accidents, all mixed up in a soup can of crazy busyness. It had left her weary and cranky. She got up one Sunday to lead worship and felt spent, with nothing more to give.