Though we are outwardly wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16

The following thoughts flow from my beginning to lose hair and facing the possibility of becoming bald!

Aging is, to put it bluntly, the process of progressive deterioration of the body and loss of abilities and qualities. Hearing fades, eyesight dims, muscles lose strength, flexibility decreases, joints creak, energy wanes and the mind slows.

Many of these losses are more than physical, for they are also the loss of what has made us feel good about ourselves, of what gave us a sense of worth, importance and the ability to reach our goals. Therefore, the process of aging can be doubly devastating as things physical, mental and emotional are taken from us.

Looking at this from a different perspective, however, aging is an opportunity for a deepened life. It should force us to reexamine the values we have adopted, especially on an emotional level. As our ability to perform is taken from us by these losses, it is an opportunity to further turn our attention towards enduring values and truths.

It is an opportunity to affirm that our worth actually does not depend on our accomplishments but upon two unchangeable facts: as human beings we are made in the image of God and as believers we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. In addition, our significance does not come from what we can do with our bodies and minds, but from being given important and vital roles in God’s overall plan for the universe: praise, prayer and persistence in doing what we know to be right and propagation of the gospel.

These all can be carried out in old age even better than in our youth, as we have had time to develop a character that reflects Christ. When we age to the point where we can do nothing else but exist, Christ’s kindness, love and grace can still shine out of our lives as we continually offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Ps. 50:23).

Picture: two deteriorating  old folks!

A story of God’s foreknowledge and grace.

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:11

In the cold of late December snowy while I was talking in the hall with our upstairs neighbor about the problem of getting more fuel oil for the furnace, one of the landlords of the building walked by. I took the opportunity to talk with him about his share of the building’s heating bill, which he had not paid. However, because he doesn’t live here. he was unreceptive to my suggestions, which meant that the rest of us had to shoulder his share of the cost–if we wanted any heat in our homes.

As he resisted all I had to say, I felt a hot flash of anger beginning to rise up in my chest at his imperious and negative replies. Knowing that if we talked much longer I was going to say something I’d regret, I abruptly and somewhat impolitely cut off the conversation and retreated into our apartment.

It was obvious, however, to all involved that I had become angry and I was chagrined about that. It was one of those instances where I hadn’t seen one of Satan’s traps coming my way and fell right into it.

One of my regular prayers is that God would help me to see Satan’s wiles before I fall into them, not afterwards. However, God does not always choose to answer in the way I’d like. In this case, He helped my humility develop a bit more with a little humiliation, and, more importantly, without my knowing it, prepared me for a more significant event.

A couple of days later I was having a very difficult conversation with one of our teammates here, and the same hot flash of anger began to rise in my chest. But the Lord used my previous failure to alert me so I could recognize what was happening. I could immediately turn to God for help, use His weapons of the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation and not fall into Satan’s attempt to trap me in my natural temper.

This situation was much more important than the earlier one, and I am so thankful that the Lord chose to warn me as He did, so I would not ruin several months of careful relationship building with one impatient response!

He very definitely answered my prayer: “Lord, today help me to keep on the armor and see the wiles of the devil before I fall into them! Amen.”

You “…O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.” Psalm 97:

Yes, You, Lord Jesus, are the exalted One, the Most High One, towering far above all creatures, all creation, all time, all eternity.

**You are the final Authority,

++the Almighty King,

–the Measure of all good,

>>the Determiner of what is right.

You see all, you judge all, and you will end all. Your righteousness shines out from your being; in your purity you bring light; in your holiness you illuminate the world. You are truly the Most High God.

May we live in the light of your love and grace, walking in the shining of your presence. May we worship you with thankfulness each day, all day long.

As I write this it is New Year’s Day: Happy New Year. And with Jesus it will be a good one!

Rom 5:2  “…through whom we HAVE GAINED access by faith into this grace…”  Another certainty of the past; it has happened and cannot change!

“…in which we NOW STAND.” A present reality that will stretch into the future. 

“And we boast in THE HOPE of the glory of God.” Hope has always to do with the future, the certainty of what He has promised.

It reminds me of Psalm 139:4 telling of how He is intimately involved in our past, present, and future, from before birth and on.

“You hem me in behind [the past] and before,[the future] and you lay your hand upon me [present].”

What encouraging thoughts as we move into a New Year, resting in the truth of the past, present and what He will do with us in the future!

Picture from Internet

Some thoughts to carry into the new year.

Recently I heard of one practice that can prevent all of us from falling into this trap of self-pity and living in such frustration: we should stop just listening to ourselves and start talking to ourselves. The difference is huge.

Only listening to ourselves is a trap: “What a terrible day with all this rain” “No one loves me” “Nothing ever goes right” “I can never get ahead” “No luck for me today!”

It is good instead to recognize these thoughts and then evaluate them according to God’s Word. After that we can speak truth to ourselves, which is the way out of this swamp of sadness.

For example, we should say such things as, “Well, I had hoped for a sunny day, but praise God He knows that we need this rain!” “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” “Praise you that you bring to me what I need, Lord, both what is pleasant and what is not!” “Thank you for the lack of progress, as this reminds me that my times are in your hands.” “Thank you that you the one who arranges my days.”

David practiced this in Psalm 43. First he listened to himself: “Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” (Ps. 43:2). This is how David felt, but his statements were not true: God had not rejected him, and he didn’t need to go about mourning. And worse, David was blaming God for this, implying that, “If you are my stronghold, why are you failing to protect me??!”

However, David went on to process his own thoughts by speaking truth to himself. At the end of the Psalm, David said, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Ps. 43:5). He was moving out of the swamp of despair onto the firm ground of God’s Word. He gave his burden to God, as we talked about in an earlier post.

Listen to the inner monologue going on in your heart; break in and speak truth to yourself. This is one step towards the joy that Jesus has for us. Then we can say with Asaph, “Whom have I in heaven but you, and earth has nothing I desire besides you” (Ps. 73:25).