Over the past several months I have taken part in two blog tours for the Common English Bible. This has been an incredibly rewarding experience because it allowed me to really dig into a new translation. I am a translation junkie, so this was a great exercise for me.

I have found the CEB to be really refreshing to read in the epistles. 2 Cor. 4:17-18 are incredibly rich verses. Paul has listed some incredibly tough battles and situations in his life. There were so many opportunities to throw in the towel. Just call it quits!

We’ve had tough times. Every one of us. But Paul really puts it in perspective for us. There is something greater working in us.

We need to see just how valuable tough times are! They prepare us for something greater.

This is where I am liking the CEB:

¹⁷ Our temporary minor problems are producing an eternal stockpile of glory for us that is beyond all comparison. ¹⁸ We don’t focus on the things that can be seen but on the things that can’t be seen. The things that can be seen don’t last, but the things that can’t be seen are eternal.

We are gaining an eternal stockpile for glory. Friends, we don’t go looking for trouble or distress. Yet, when those things come, don’t try to shove them off so quickly! God may something eternal going on!