Renewed Day By Day

“So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)

I would give a lot to be a senior in high school again, if only for a day. I would like a particular fall day. I was a cross-country runner. I loved to run. I remember one day specifically. I was injured earlier in the year but was returning to full strength. It was the last long run day before regionals. It was a twelve-mile run, and I felt so good. It was as if my feet didn’t even touch the ground the whole twelve miles. I was floating, yet moving fast. The run was effortless. I never felt quite that good again.

Now I am fifty-four years old, with a fused spine and other health issues that require a fist full of pills twice per day. When I start to whine, all I have to do is visit the hospital or even just look around and see people who are “wasting away” a lot faster than I am. I am blessed to get around still well and be able to ride my bike fifteen miles in the morning before going to work.

It is true, the old Art Linkletter adage, “Old age isn’t for sissies!” People talk about young athletes being “tough.” I beg to differ. Just about every ninety-year-old is tougher than the most calloused professional football player. Monday, after the Sunday game, the player is stiff and sore. By the following Sunday, the player is ready and able to run fast, block hard, and take the hits all over again. The ninety-year-old never quite recovers. They face each new day with the old aches and pains, knowing the pain is never really going to get anything but worse. Who is tougher?!

Yet, if the person “wasting away” is a person of faith, they have the wisdom and trust, or “inner nature” to know that God’s healing is miraculous. Our faith “is being renewed day by day,” allowing us to face the discomfort, knowing we will walk into God’s heavenly kingdom one day. When that day comes, we will experience eternal effortlessness. Suffering and pain will be no more! Today, ask God to bless and strengthen your “inner nature.” Let God provide the endurance to face today and the vision to look forward to an eternal tomorrow.