People who are aging into their 60’s and beyond are always quoting the same quote. “I am a young person trapped in this old person’s body.” I am definitely finding this to be true. I have finally admitted to myself that there are things I just cannot do and will tell people so. Someone described this stage of life as the medical hamster wheel. Something medical comes up that precipitates a test. That test tells something about the original problem, but also finds something else that must be monitored. Monitoring this new problem reveals another problem, and so on, and so on. Now we are glad for this, because this provides the early detection that is needed to monitor or correct problems before they become fatal. It, however, is worrisome and time consuming.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 English Standard Version (ESV)
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self[a] is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 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.
What does it mean to lose heart? According to the Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament (S.Zodhiates), It means “to turn out to be a coward, to lose one’s courage. In the NT, generally, to be fainthearted, to faint or despond in view of trial, difficulty.”
Paul is reminding the Corinthian church that, while we cannot control the physical world we live in to the extent we wish, we can do something about our inner self. We can do the opposite of losing heart, or growing faint, or being weary. We can take courage. How do we do this? We need to be about seeking renewal every day.
There are many ways to renew our inner selves. One of the ways we can renew our inner self is by taking care of our outer self. It seems every day we read about the benefits that exercise brings. This can help set the stage for the energy to seek to transform the inner self. However, this is an uphill battle, and somehow taking care of our inner self is key to taking of our outer self. How do we do this? By seeking God. How do we do this? Prayer, Praise, the Word. What I am discovering about daily renewal is that true contentment in this life comes from the presence of God. We seek His presence through the above disciplines. We must allow these disciplines to transform us. We need our understanding, thought life, behaviors and motivations to be transformed by Him.
I would admonish you to spend time in His word. This is where we discover what He says about Himself, what He says about the world He has created, what He says about right and wrong, what He says about injustice, what He has done for us, and how we are then to live. Joyce Meyer in her book “The Battlefield of the Mind” says of the Word: we can pray it, speak it, sing it, and study it.
Get out your Bible. Open in up. Get out a piece of paper to record some thoughts. Let’s get renewed 🙂