We all need his help

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! (2 Corinthians 4:16-17 NLT)

As I get a little older, I realize my body is not getting 'better', it is getting 'frailer' and less 'durable' than it once was. Bones creak, joints crackle and pop, eyes tire while reading, and stairs make me a little more winded than they once did. It is a 'given' that we will all 'age' physically, but isn't it amazing that even when our bodies may be failing, our spirit can grow stronger with each passing day?

This continual renewal of our spiritual man is never to be taken lightly. God has prepared a place for us in his family, and we are given every spiritual blessing as a member of that family. Our minds are being renewed, though they may not be as 'sharp' as they once were, his work within us is 'understood' just a bit better each and every day. Our physical strength may wane, but our spiritual fortitude never has to falter because he renews it each day.

We face our present struggles, tests, temptation, and trials with insight we did not have a year ago. We experience a balance in our emotions because his peace invades spaces once consumed by doubt and worry. We enjoy an appreciation for the depth of each relationship he provides for our support and encouragement along the way. The things of this earth that come against us seem to 'last forever' - but we must never lose sight of his promise that they will produce for us a glory that will VASTLY outweigh their influence over us right now.

Never give up. Did you ever want to throw in the towel, turn tail, and run as fast as you could from something tough that you have been facing? I think we probably have all been there at one point or another. The word to us today is to not give up, even when we feel the pressure mounting, for our renewal is right there - it is already prepared, is on its way, and is assured to each of us without fail. Strength upon strength - this is what gives us our foothold. We don't have to wobble and fall. We can stand strong because he WILL renew us even when we no longer feel 'able' or 'fit' for the battle ahead.

Do you know what biblical renewal is? It is transformation! What once was dirty is now made clean. What once caused us angst and fear is gone because it has been replaced with a peace that passes all understanding. What once weighed us down under a load of guilt is removed as far as the east is from the west. Renewal God's way always yields transformation. What once was is no longer. Here those words and relish that fact that when God transforms us, he doesn't just take away, he gives back so much more than we ever realized we needed or could have. Just sayin!