What is Unseen

In my Bible, I have several passages next to which are marked “Louie.” These are pieces of scripture that directly pertain to illness in some way. One of which I was recently reminded of. It is found in 2 Corinthians, where Paul is writing to the Church in Corinth and reminding them of what they have learned, who God is, and encouraging them to keep going. The end of chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 5 is where I have underlined.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be sprits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. (v 4:16-5:5, NLT)

Wow. That is one packed passage!

Paul covers or dying bodies (and who doesn’t feel like their body is dying with lupus or something else?), our troubles are small in comparison and won’t last long compared to eternal life in a perfect, painless body (but sometimes our troubles don’t feel small!), and some of those troubles are unseen (hello, invisible illness). Yes, we grow weary in our present bodies- the constant pain, swelling, or malfunctioning is exhausting! We groan and sigh and just would like to get cash for clunkers for the ones we live in! But Paul reminds us that God has prepared us for this; that he is taking care of us, and in the end, we’ll get a different dwelling place. How nice does that sound!

The part that most popped out to me today was the part about focusing on the unseen (v 18). (In most translations, it reads: So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.) Many autoimmune diseases are known as “invisible illnesses.” When I first started researching lupus, the two common phrases I found were “but you don’t LOOK sick” and “look good, feel bad.” Both are true. Fortunately, and unfortunately, lupus isn’t a disease that most people can see when they look at you. Sure, maybe you have a bit of a rash on your face, but other than that, nothing physical, generally.

The funny thing is, oftentimes when we’re sick, what remains unseen is all that we see. Honestly, I look at everything, every plan, every trip, every job, through the lens of lupus. How will it affect my health? Will I be able to nap? What about when I need to take my meds? In our case, what is invisible is seen, and is not what we need to focus on.

After this life on the earth, our bodies will become worm food. The pain will be gone. The swelling will disappear. The rash will vanish (haha!) That body, whatever it looks like, is the one that will last forever. I plan to use this body completely up, wear it out, before I’m through with it. And, most days, it seems Louie is helping me do that!

I’m not saying that I’m not going to take care of myself- take meds and naps and things like that- but I’m not going to let the Louie-colored glasses affect my decisions on how I live. He will not keep me from truly living. Yes, my life is altered from that which I was hoping to live, but I can still live well. Louie will not change how I love people, or the dreams that I have. I’ve lost so much to him already that I can’t afford to give up anything else.

In fact, the week I told my parents and extended family of my diagnosis, I also told them that I was spending 6 weeks in East Africa that summer. Yes, there were lots of questions and concerns, but my doctor said it was fine, and I can’t imagine not going!

Our light and momentary troubles are just that- light and momentary. Even when they don’t seem like it. When arthritis swells up my hands and I’m in pain and can’t hold a pen, that’s what I think about. But, that’s not all that life is or all that God has for me. These things will soon be gone, but God lasts forever.

The invisible-seen things should not keep us from the life God planned. And, those things, such as invisible illnesses, should not be our primary focus. “We fix our gaze on things than cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”