2 Corinthians 4: Renewed Day by Day

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV

I see the preceding verses differently now than I did when I was younger.  When I was younger, I thought that when Paul referenced having these "'treasures in jars of clay", he  was speaking of our spiritual and emotional weaknesses.  When I read these verses now, I see that he is referring to how our bodies eventually waste away.  "Death is at work in us", he says in verse 12.  Paul could see he was wasting away and that everything on the other side of that great divide called death is more magnificent than anything we can possibly imagine with our limited earthly vision.  These troubles here are nothing compared to the glory that awaits us.  Would this world be different if we fixed our eyes on the unseen, on the promise, rather than the poor substitute that surrounds us?   If we could do that, we would not lose heart but would be as Paul stated, "renewed day by day." 

Meanwhile, we live by faith and not by sight, we cannot see the one we love face to face, but we know he is waiting there, our final reward. 

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  We live by faith, not by sight. - 2 Cor.5:6-7 NIV