This verse in God's word seems more pertinent than ever to me as I inch closer each day to my 69th birthday:
"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:16).
Wasting away? In some parts for sure. I saw a hand surgeon this week about my deteriorating right hand. Wrist and elbow surgery to relieve nerve compression nearly a year ago has failed to improve the weakness, numbness, and growing deformity.
Diagnosis? Radiation damage from cancer treatment in 2005. The bad news? Ramifications from that can continue for decades. Terrific. But there's no losing heart.
Then there's the left hand. No longer able to do much with my dominant right, lefty has come to the rescue with surprising compensating effectiveness--even shaving my head! But lately some significant wrist pain has grown to the point of needing the doctor's attention.
Diagnosis? X-ray revealed bone-on-bone arthritis. Getting older is overrated. But there's no losing heart.
Treatment? Cortisone shot to the left wrist. That was fun. How long might relief last? Could be months, could be days. Time will tell. A surgerical procedure exists for the condition, but it would put me out of commission for a long time. Sigh. But there's no losing heart.
Why do I keep saying that? There's no losing heart. Because Jesus by his grace continues to renew my inner self daily through time in his word and prayer. How incredibly grateful I am for his keeping ways.
Would I like prayer for some relief for outer man wasting? Of couse.
But would I like prayer all the more for ongoing inner self renewal? Absolutely!
There's no losing heart.
