2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” Today's episode talks about this verse and several other verses that show us that just because our bodies may be getting older our inner nature is being renewed daily. Psalm 92:14 says, “They will still bear fruit in old age; they will stay fresh and green.” Which reminds us that we are still fruitful when we are older. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
In Old Age They Still Produce Fruit
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.”
Today’s prayer point for the healing service is prayer for our old and retired priests. While reading the passages, I got to thinking about all those I know who are getting older. My parents are getting older. They are in their 80’s, although if you looked at them, you would never guess that. They still go out dancing several nights a week; they are on the board of the square dancing group, and they do so much in church and out of the church. They have a busier schedule than most of their kids, who aren’t really kids anymore. I get the pleasure of being around the ladies in prayer group weekly, or sometimes many times a week, and many of them are getting older, too. Well, I guess we are all getting older. Many of them are feeling it more and more.
There were a couple of verses that I really liked this morning—the one above stuck out the most. I hear a lot of older people losing heart because their bodies can’t do what they used to be able to do. They are tired more easily, and they might even need to take naps. They used to be able to get up and go first thing in the morning. Now, even though they can’t sleep that well and are probably awake early, they can’t get moving and get out of the house too early. I liked this verse because it reminds us all that no matter what is going on with our bodies on the outside, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. It also says this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.
Can you imagine that? An eternal weight of glory beyond all measure. There is no way to measure how much glory we will encounter if you think of your best day or if you think of your favorite thing. If you think of the prettiest thing you can think of or the most expensive thing you can think of, the glory of heaven is even greater than that. Tony and I are watching a show called Billions. The eternal weight of glory is greater than billions and billions of dollars and all that money can buy you. The verse says the weight of glory is beyond all measure.
I know that might not make you feel better about your aches and pains. You may be going through some really difficult medical stuff right now, and it is hard to think about eternal glory. It might be hard to hear the part of the verse above where it says, “slight momentary affliction,” when it feels like you have been sick forever. Or maybe you aren’t sick, but you can’t walk the way you used to, or you can’t get around the way you used to. I am sure it is hard to wake up one day and not be able to do something you could do the day before. I don’t know if this verse brings you any comfort or not, but I thought it was a great reminder that no matter how much our human body fails us, God is renewing our inner nature every day.
Another verse that I thought might be helpful to hear is Psalm 92:12-15 “The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. In old age, they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap, showing that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” I know some of the ladies question what they can still do for the community. The prayer group I am blessed to be a part of has been around for over 50 years. Many of them joined when they were young and they did all the things they could do. They led the prayer group; they were on all the different teams, they went to conferences, and they did it all. Now, it is hard to do any of it, and they feel bad they can’t do more. I wonder if you are feeling this way too. Your heart wants to help more, but your body won’t cooperate.
If this is you, I want you to really hear what Psalm 92:14 says, “They will still bear fruit in old age; they will stay fresh and green.” You will still bear fruit. Your prayers bear fruit; your efforts bear fruit, and you are still bearing fruit after all these years. We often say, I guess all I can do is pray as if prayer wasn’t the most powerful thing we can do. Prayer is more powerful than anything action we can do on our own. Mahatma Gandhi said, "Prayer is not an old woman's amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.” It is ok that you can not do all the things you once did. It is ok that you can’t go to all the things you once went to. It is not the time for that. You have moved on to a new stage. Not a better or worse stage, just a different stage. It is ok that you need to take naps. If we are all being honest with ourselves, we would all like to take naps. We don’t judge kids for taking naps. Why are we judging our parents, spouses, and friends?
Yes, your body is getting older, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything. Yes, your body is getting older, but your inner spirit is getting renewed daily. Don’t waste that. The Bible tells us that we are still fruitful when we are older, so what are we doing with this fruit? I want to leave you with Psalm 73:26 today, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode. Lord, we pray in a special way today for the elderly and for all retired priests and ministers. Lord, we pray you are walking with all who are feeling their age, whether that is young or old. Lord, teach us to appreciate each season we are in. Teach us to be patient with ourselves and to be patient with you. Your ways are not our ways, and your thoughts are not our thoughts, and that can be really hard for us. We love you, Lord, and we want to want what you want; it can just be really hard for us to do that. Although we know we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us, so we will keep trying. Lord, help us have an incredible Lenten season. We love you and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I have been thinking about sending the word from the Lord out daily in an email. If you would be interested in having a daily Word from the Lord coming to your inbox, let me know. We all get a lot of emails, but it is often nothing we really want. I don’t want to be adding to your cluttered mailboxes if you are not interested. I look forward to hearing from you. You can email catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com or you can go to my website and click on the contact me tab, or you can click on the link in the show notes. I will also make a post on my Facebook account today. I look forward to seeing you here again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed weekend! I get to spend the night with my niece tonight, so I know mine will be blessed.
Today’s Word from the Lord is in the form of an image one of our members had. “I could see many people were hesitating, and I could see his hand moving to tell them to come. I got the feeling that the Lord wants to use many people, and he will give them all the necessary gifts for whatever He asks. But people are still hesitant, so I could see both His hands telling them to come, and He was looking deeply and trying to convince them that this was the thing to do, and those who did not answer, I could see how sad that He was.”