Forced to Be Still

            Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

            2 Corinthians 4:16 is more of a reality for me on January 1st than any other day. While I love the holidays and get togethers with friends and family, I am physically tired from a week of decorating, entertaining and cleaning.  It doesn’t help that at our annual New Year’s Eve Sunday school party, I danced for hours to old disco tunes with friends. While it was fun at the time, my body is now sore and stiff from the contorted moves I made; twists and turns that were a breeze in my younger years.

             I am forced to rest.

            How about you?  Is your body starting to break down? How are your knees? Your back?

            Thankfully, this earthly tent we live in is not the main connecting point with God. Instead, God works with our minds. Even though my body is barely moving, I am still able to start the new year out in God’s Word and prayer while wrapped up like a cocoon in my blanket.  

            So often, our agile bodies can actually be our downfall. When all the parts hum, we are busy running and don’t sit down long enough to have a quiet time with God.

            But Scripture says, Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)

            You may be forced to be still but are you knowing God?

            Even if you are aging and have had to drop the tennis league or can’t run like you used to, what are you doing with your newfound down time?  Are you spending your stillness developing a closer relationship with your loving Father who desires intimacy with you?

            Today I am wondering if God allows our bodies to slow down so we will turn to him more as we approach the end of our earthly life. Then he’s not such a stranger when we see him in eternity. It’s a much easier transition.

            So while we are wasting away on the outside, we should seize this opportunity to be renewed by God on the inside. Wouldn’t it be nice to feel like 30 years old in our minds no matter what age we ouwardly appear to be?

            As you turn a year older in 2014, try to look at the aging process in a different light. Instead of being down about your aching bones, see this phase of life as an opportunity to exercise your mind through Scripture, to have more conversations with God and to rest in him.

            If we want to know God, we have to be still.