Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. — Philippians 3:21
As I was growing up, I would always think it was funny how people would describe getting older. I often heard people say, “things change when you turn 30.” They spoke about how they started seeing things like their vision getting worse or their weight increasing. But then, it seemed like 40 was the one that everyone was talking about.
I often heard people say they started to “fall apart” when they turned 40. The idea was that parts of their body started to fail. They required surgery and medications more as they got older. I never gave this much thought when I was younger. After all, I was never going to get old!
That was until it started happening. The older we get, the more we realize that our bodies are not permanent. Our bodies here in this world were never designed to be permanent. As the scriptures teach, life is but a fleeting moment, and then we are gone. We certainly want to take care of ourselves and our health, but there is a day we will all see our bodies fail.
Perhaps you have found yourself there already. Young or old, we all have moments where we find ourselves hurting, aching, sick, and facing things due to the temporary nature of our bodies. That makes me so thankful for verses in the scriptures like this one.
I certainly would not wish bad health or sickness on anyone, but we all will deal with this at times in our lives. If you find yourself there today and are a child of God, you can take comfort in this verse. The sufferings of this world are just temporary. One day, we will have a new body where there will be no more sickness or pain! Take comfort in this hope and promise found through our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Jared Dyson
I have been a happy work horse most of my life, in work, I found purpose, caring for people less able than myself. I cannot do the work I once did, due to this horse aging hard, but the horse just carries the soul, and with prayer, I find I can still bring comfort and peace to others. The pains I have are real, they disable me sometimes, but all I think of is Christ on the cross, the pain that he willingly suffered, and mine seems bearable. I did not fall apart at 40, but after 65, things caught up with me, and I have no desire to live as a mortal eternally. I believe I am on my way to Glory after this physical shell crumbles. I pray for strength to keep my spirits high. Somedays I feel bad, there is so much beauty in life, and God has rewarded me with eyes to see the flowers and birds and sunrise and the light against the trees at sunset, but it is all fleeting. I pray for courage to accept that the day will come when I will lose all of these things, and I pray for Faith to know all of those things pale in comparison to what is in store for me. In Jesus' name.
...a beautiful testimony...
Job 12:12
King James Version
12 With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.