2 Cor 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
I write these self exposes as my way of journalling. Someone once said, ‘I’m glad when I get home at night, so I can relax and be myself.’ I feel like asking them ‘who are you when you’re in public? It must be exhausting.’ I don’t have that kind of deceit in me. What you see with me, is what you get, always.
Winnie and I came across the above verse (2 Cor 4:16) in our morning devotions today. It caused me concern. Sure, my outward man is definitely dying slowly. Takes longer to get moving in the morning. Work outs get harder and harder doing the same things. Eye sight is going, reading takes a lot longer (and I was always a poor reader to begin with), joints are being replaced, cancer forcing me to cut out stuff, even less sleep, increasing memory loss hearing loss, weight…. All harder and harder to fix and or control. So I got the first part down pat! Outward man perishing? Handled! The second part has me concerned though.
Like the verse ‘we are being conformed to the image of Christ’. I don’t ‘feel’ it is happening, AND my inward man sure doesn’t ‘feel’ like it’s being renewed either. I’ve always glossed over that verse, feeling reassured. This time however, I stayed there too long, dwelt on it, and felt condemned. Like Paul said;
Romans 7:24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Mentally, I know that God’s AGAPE LOVE (without conditions) does all the work. We are being renewed and conformed no matter what we do or don’t do. I know that ‘feelings’ have nothing to do with my spiritual well being. None the less, I’d love a little encouragement here FROM MY FEELINGS, IF POSSIBLE. I want to ‘feel’ the joy of my salvation like I did before my first few years in Nicaragua over 3 decades ago. I ‘feel’ nothing anymore, just numbness. When I first got saved, I was walking on air for years! Now I am not. As King David said;
Psalm 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
I want to exude Christ’s presence where ever I go. I want to be a walking epistle like Paul says. Meaning? People don’t read the Bible, they read us! If you are an Evangelical, Born-Again, Jesus freak, you testify with your life. Like it or not. People are watching us.
People say I do show Christ when I am out and about, but I don’t ‘feel’ it. Except for Carlos, my handyman last week, it’s been months since I’ve lead anyone to the Lord or helped someone have the faith to be healed. I don’t ‘feel’ like my inward man is being renewed daily, but rather it’s following the course of my outward man, perishing. I pray, and yet people die anyway. I testify, and get shoved to the side, not taken seriously. I’m hardly ever sinning anymore that I know of. Really! not even in thoughts. I even quit smoking in my dreams.
All day today, after our devotions, I felt like Paul did in Romans 7, a wretch. But then it dawned on me. ‘Feelings’ actually have nothing at all to do with being renewed nor being conformed into the image of Christ.
We are being renewed continuously, by God’s grace, whether we do anything to deserve it, or not! Whether we feel it or not. If we are truly saved, we are being conformed to Christ’s image, even if there is no evidence. God does all the work.
If we’re in doubt, just obey the Word of God. Do what God tells you to do daily and you will be renewed and you will be conformed to Christ’s image.
What do I mean, obey the Word of God?
1. Pray without ceasing. I pretty much have that down, but by multitasking, I am constantly praying. (Read AND APPLY TO YOUR LIFE a short piece called ‘practicing the presence of God’ by brother Lawrence. It transformed my prayer life). Jesus said to pray at least an hour of dedicated prayer (That’s where I am lacking, but will turn that around tonight). Praying. That’s where renewal is.
Matthew 26:40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
2. Fight temptation. Stop sinning. Stop losing your temper. Stop doing anything that displeases God, because when you displease God you are obeying the devil. Every epistle of the Bible tells us to do something about the devil. Intentionally obeying God. Fight! That’s where renewal is.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you
3. Study the Bible. That’s where God speaks to you. That’s where you grow and are directed by God. Learn the Word of God! That’s where renewal is.
Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Being renewed has to do with the mind, but nothing to do with feelings. If you are truly saved, you are renewed daily. Don’t worry about whether you feel like you are being renewed or not. That’s where faith comes in. If you are saved, and are being a ‘doer of the Word, not just a hearer’, you are being renewed.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Taken from my brother Joel Gass
Brothers and sisters, take heart today. Our hope is not in our strength, our consistency, or our ability to hold ourselves together, but in the sovereign power of the risen Christ who will finish the work He began in us. The same God who raised Jesus from the dead has promised that we, too, will be transformed at His coming.
No matter the trials, the discouragements, or the long battles with sin, our future is not uncertain. Our resurrection is guaranteed by the unfailing purpose of God. The trumpet will sound. Christ will return. And every saint, weak or strong, known or unknown, will be changed by His irresistible grace.
Press on with confidence. Your labor is not in vain, and your hope is anchored in a God who cannot lie. The best is yet to come, and it is secured by the finished work of Christ.
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…” (1 Cor. 15:51-52)
Soli Deo Gloria.