When You Resent What Your Body Has Become

Sharon Betters and Susan Hunt had been friends for

years. Both were well into their later years, and both had spent

their lives teaching the Bible to women. One day, they compared

notes and noticed something. Each of them had recently been

asked to speak on the same subject, growing older. And they

expected that. The surprise was who kept leaning in to listen.

Right alongside the older women were women in their 20s and 30s,

taking notes on how to age well before they had even started.

Sharon and Susan started asking why. They lived in a culture

that spends billions of dollars trying to look young. And here

were young women asking how to grow old on purpose. So the two

friends went looking for an answer in Scripture, and what

they found became a book. We'll come back to what they landed on,

but

first, welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm

Bart Leger. In my mind, I still feel like I'm in my 30s. I feel

like the same guy I've always been. Then, I bend down in the

mornings to tie my shoes, and I hear myself groan. And I realize

my body didn't get the memo. It's gotten old on me. And the

man I feel like on the inside, and the one the mirror shows me,

aren't the same age anymore. And some mornings, it bothers me

more than I'd like to admit. And maybe you're there too. There

comes a stretch of years when the mirror stops like a friend.

Your knees don't work the way they used to. The energy you

took for granted at 30 isn't there when you reach for it. And

something in you begins to resent it. You catch a photo of

yourself and don't realize the person looking back. You push to

keep up with people half your age, and then you pay for it the

next day. I know what that's like. I've been in the gym

during events with young people, and I try to keep up playing

basketball. And then, again, I pay for it the next day. It can

make you feel like you're slowly losing the you once were. The

Apostle Paul knew our bodies don't hold up forever. He told

the Corinthians about it, then offered them a longer view.

Listen to 2 Corinthians 4.16. That is why we never give up.

Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every

day. Notice Paul doesn't soften the first part of it. Our bodies

are dying. I mean, come on, let's face it. He says it flat

out. An older rendering puts it this way. Our outer self is

wasting away. Paul isn't going to insult you by telling you

your knees are fine. I mean, they're not, and he knows it.

But watch the second half, because that's where the hope is.

While the body winds down, something else in you is being

renewed. Every single day, your spirit, the person God is making,

is not aging. It's growing. The renewal is happening at the same

time as the decline, on the same timeline, in the same person.

One is running down. The other is being built up, if we allow

it. And the one being built up is the one that will last

forever. And that changes what you see in the mirror. The

wrinkles and the stiff joints don't lie. They're telling you

the truth about the outer person. They're just not telling you the

whole truth, because they can't see the part of you that's

getting newer, while the rest is getting older. Think of yourself

as a house. The visible rooms are wearing down, no question

about it. And all the while, the owner is adding on, building

something new out back that you can't see yet, out of everything

these years are teaching you. And that's what Sharon and Susan

found in God's Word. Sharon and Susan wrote the book called

Aging with Grace. And that book pushes back on the idea that

getting older is something to dread. They ended every chapter

with a friend, somewhere between 70 and 90, telling how she made

peace with her changing body. And Sharon, whose own body was

growing weaker, put the heart of it in one sentence.

Sharon said that while her own body was giving out, she wasn't

in denial about the weakness. She just knew it couldn't touch

the thing that mattered most about her. The years take things

from the body. They don't get a vote on what God's doing in you.

Here's today's challenge. The next time you've grown getting

out of a chair, or catch a reflection you'd rather not, try

saying this out loud. My body is wearing out, and God is renewing

me today. Both are true. Then do one thing that feeds the inner

person. While you've got the day, open the Word, or call someone

who needs you. The body is on its own schedule. The renewal is

available right now. Father, some of us have been resenting

what our bodies have become, grieving the strength we used to

have. Thank you that even as the body wears down, you are

renewing us on the inside every single day. Help us believe that

the person you're making will outlast these aching and tired

joints. And, Father, teach us to feed the inner life while we can,

and trust that your work in us is not slowing down. In Jesus'

name, amen. This podcast runs on the generosity of listeners just

like you. If Daily Devotions for Busy Lives has encouraged you,

would you consider supporting it with a one-time gift or by

becoming a monthly supporter? Every contribution helps keep

these devotions coming every day of the week. You can give at

DailyDevotionsForBusyLives.com Thank you so much. And thanks

for joining me on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives.

Remember, your body is wearing but the person God is making

inside you is being renewed every day. And that's the person

who lasts. Come back next time for more encouragement to help

you live grounded in God's truth. Until then, God bless and have a

great day.

Thank you.