A Fountain of Youth?

My friend had a birthday last week, he turned 53.  On Saturday he went with his family to hear a band he followed years ago. His posted “it was like reliving my youth again!”  I like it! For an evening, 30 years disappeared. How fun. 

Last night, I was spending time with some teens from our church. One of them mentioned a band’s name. They laughed as I garbled the name when I repeated it.  My young friends were not mocking, just having some fun and yet their laughter made me realize how far distant in the past my own teens years were.  

My son visited this weekend. With pride I saw my little boy as a man- a business owner, a husband and father. Time’s passing, how swift!

On this Monday morning, God has a word for us about renewal! It is full of hope. "Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s." (Psalm 103:1-5, NIV)  What to find true renewal, strength for this new week, the ability to soar instead of crawl?   Adore your God, receive His provisions, let Him satisfy you with the best of life! David sings of being renewed like the eagle.  He may be referring to the way in which a bird sheds old feathers and regains a sleek beauty. He may also be observing the strength of the eagle as it flies, rising higher and higher on the wind currents, staying aloft for hours to all appearances without becoming tired.  

Instead of dragging ourselves into a new work week, we can look up, drink deeply of the Presence and Power of the Spirit.  What do we find?

In Him we can find release from the heavy shame of sin and guilt. There is no need to drag around yesterday’s mistakes and failures. He forgives!  In Him there is healing. The Hebrew word is ‘rapha,’ meaning relief from our distress.  Why head into this new week weighed down by last week’s disappointment?  Give it to the Lord and let Him give wholeness.  He gives us a new hope, too.  The word ‘redeem’ is not so familiar to us, but in the time of David, if you fell into debt you could be sold into servitude until your debt was paid.  Your children could be forced to work for the one who held your debt unless someone stepped in to ‘redeem’ you.  They paid your debt and gave you back your life.  The Lord paid our sin debt that was condemning us to death!  Yes, there is renewal when we take His offer of “life abundant!”

This side of Heaven I will never be 25 again, nor would I want to be.  But, as I live in the Spirit, I can find the strength to soar like an eagle. And, so can you. Start with true praise, remembering the goodness of the Lord. His renewal is offered again and again.  Here’s the word from the Word - "Have you never heard or understood? Don’t you know that the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up. But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:28-31, NLT)

__________

Spirit of God,
descend upon my heart,

Wean it from earth,

thro' all its pulses move.

Stoop to my weakness,

mighty as Thou art;

And make me love Thee

as I ought to love.

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