“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”
2 Corinthians 4:16
What an amazing blessing to have hope like this. We all know that every day we’re getting closer to that dreaded moment when our flesh and blood will fail and our life on earth will end. Every day we’re getting older. For those of us who have reached adulthood, the toll that age takes on a body is noticeable. The older you get the more aches and pains there are, the harder it is to do the things you once could, and the more obvious it is that your body is losing its vigor.
These seem like depressing thoughts. For most of the world they are. Maybe for some of us, even, these seem like sad things to speak about. Paul doesn’t think so. He says that we can look these things square in the face and be brave, even hopeful. He tells us that even as our bodies waste away, our inner selves, our spirits, our souls, are being renewed every single day. You see, our bodies weren’t meant to be permanent. It’s only natural that they should fade away. As Christians, we not only have hope that death isn’t the end for us, but that its just the beginning.
For those who believe in Christ, every day we are getting closer to spending eternity in His presence. The aches and pains, the gray hairs, the wrinkles, none of them matter really. It’s not our bodies that we’re concerned about, it’s what’s inside that matters. Through Jesus, we’ve been given the gift of eternal life. By believing in his sacrifice, we know that we will be saved, that our last day on this earth will be our first in heaven.
So we don’t lose heart, we take hope. As our bodies waste away, we grow all the more determined to focus on Jesus Christ, the founder and perfecter of our faith. We trust him all the more, we love him all the more, and we know that the day can’t come soon enough that we get to meet him face to face.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the hope we have through Jesus. I pray that you’d bless us with physical health, but I also pray that we would not be discouraged by illness, old age, or death, but that we would focus on the promise of eternity that we have with you. I pray that the good news of Jesus will renew us every day.
In His Name,
Amen.
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