Read: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Fanny Crosby lost her sight as a child. Yet, she went on to become one of the most famous lyricists of Christian hymns. In her lifetime, she wrote over 9,000 hymns. Among them are favourites like “Blessed Assurance” and “To God be the Glory.” Many people felt sympathy for Fanny. A preacher once told her, “I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you.” She replied, “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I was born blind? … Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Saviour.”

Fanny saw life from an eternal perspective. All of us have problems of different kinds. However, our problems look different in light of eternity: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:17-18). Fanny’s last stanza before her death was, “You will reach the river brink, some sweet day, bye and bye.”

All our trials seem to be insignificant when we remember that one glorious day we will see Jesus face to face. The struggles that we face each day are only seasonal, but the reality of Christ will last for all eternity. This perspective encourages the believer to face life’s challenges. The way we view eternity will affect the way we live today.