THE WOMB OF THE MORNING
From the womb of the morning the dew of your youth will be yours (Ps.110:3)
As I scanned my face in the mirror I critiqued my skin and all the flaws that were obvious to me. I know I can be my worst critic and sometimes it can be depressing if I allow it to dominate my life. I am reminded in Psalm 110 that ' I have the dew of youth,' says the Lord. Psalm 103 also assures me that 'my youth is renewed like the eagles'. These two Scriptures promulgate the promise of youthfulness and renewal of life. Why then God's children have succumbed to the plight of the aging process as the carnal world around us?" Mirror, mirror on the wall whose the fairest of them all?", said the evil wicked witch of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. (written by the Grimm Brothers in The Grimm's Fairytale of 1812).She was possessed with being beautiful and was prepared to kill the competition. People do strange things to themselves to look young and beautiful. In the Book of Proverbs 31:30 it states, 'charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised' (NIV).
"Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eyes were not dim, nor his vigor abated." (Deuteronomy 34:7). "I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation," says the Lord, (NLT-Psalm 91:16). They’ll grow tall in the presence of God, lithe and green, virile still in old age." (MSG- Psalm 91:14).These Scriptures promulgate the promise of youthfulness even in old age. 'God has given us every thing that pertains to life and godliness and He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus...to abound toward us and according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself'. We then have no excuses. According to these promises God has already made provision for those who believe in Him. Anything we need according to His will and His will is His Word. Anything in the Word is a guaranteed promise or covenant we have with our Father.
Arthritis, rheumatism, dementia any of those aging diseases and whatever plagues your body, have no place there. Our bodies were designed to live a long life before sin ravaged our world. Our ancestors lived lives that were enduring and sustaining. Methuselah lived 969 years on earth. Moses died at 120 years of age. Our life span was not meant to be 70 or 80 years old but 120 years. We have seen people in our world today living long healthy lives. Jeanne Louise Calment lived 122 years in our time and this was officially authenticated. Coming after Ms. Calment was Sarah DeRemer Clark, born in the United States and lived 117 years. There were other supercentenarians. It is interesting though most of them were women.
I had an aunt who died three years ago at 100 years and both of my parents are in their nineties. So I hope I would succeed them because I have the Presence of the Holy Spirit and Christ Jesus on the inside of me, the Bible says, 'the fullness of God.' Earlier this year I went for my annual examinations and both of the doctors had something negative to report. However, they did not know that I have the Healer on the inside of me and I did not receive any of those reports. I know I am the healed and nothing, (that is no bad reports) or anyone is going to make me change who I am in Christ Jesus. I knew what I had to do and the first thing I did was to rebuke that lie immediately. Later, I received a Scripture and a word from God to substantiate my divine healing. Psalm 107:20 declared: 'God sent His word and healed me and delivered me from all my destruction'. Earlier in the year I received a prophecy from one of the pastors in my church that God had heard me and He will answer my petitions. God's Word is my final authority not those two doctors. You see I am redeemed from the curse of the law of sickness, disease and pain they are all under the curse. As a redeemed child of God I am under the blessing. The author of the curse is the devil and his lawless bunch. The Author of the Blessing is Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior.
I discovered a lot of things about myself and my health and what is my responsibility and what is God's. For me to look my optimal best I know I have to take care of my body. This body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and it is a sacrifice to Jesus. It is His body on the earth. I am accountable to God how I maintain my health. I am member of a gym and I attend four times per week doing cardio and free weights and the machines. I met a woman 90 years old attending the gym three times per week and she has been doing that for quite some time. She looks amazing. I read about an African American woman name Earnestine Shepherd, in the United States who received the prize as the oldest competitive female bodybuilder of 2010 in the Guinness Book of Records. She was seventy-four years of age. Today she is eighty-one years of age and she is no longer competitive but is very much actively involved in maintaining her fitness goals. She gets up at 2:30 am every morning, does her devotions (note: she puts God first place) then have breakfast and run ten miles then go to the gym to exercise. She is now teaching exercise classes to other seniors and even some younger people who attend her classes. One of her quotes she frequently says is: 'age is just a number.' Another one is the fountain of youth is exercise.'
Ms. Earnestine Shepherd
Could she be on to something? Could it be that the fountain of youth is already in our DNA? How can we gain access to it? Could it be also that some of us succumbed to the world's way of living and die prematurely or live a poor quality of life because of our diet and exercise or lack of thereof? Well, I have been talking to God about that and I believe there is so much of the human skeletal frame that we have barely scratched the surface. We read about people who have done amazing things in their lives in the sports arena and in other areas. Tibetan monks and the Tibetan lamas also live long healthy lives. The Eastern cultures live longer than those of the Western world. Funny enough those who migrate from the Eastern cultures and have assimilated to the Western lifestyle succumbed eventually to the faulty way of living in our Western world. It is so interesting to see how other cultures have lived and how they enjoy a good quality of life. The principles of this lifestyle is to feed your body with quality, tasty meals in small portions and to listen to your body when you have had enough. Eating under calm and soothing environments enhance our digestive system.
The dew of youth is not just taking care of our physical frame only, but more importantly, it is to nourish and sustain our spiritual frame. Mankind is not one dimensional, meaning it is not just a physical body. Mankind was created in the image of God-The Trinity. Mankind is also a triune being, with a spirit, a soul (made up of your mind, will and emotions) and with a physical body. The body is last on this list and the spirit of mankind is the first we need to nourish. Without our spirit we will die. When the spirit leaves the body upon death the body returns to the ground from which it originated.
As a child of God and understanding this symbiotic relationship with God, our Source of all life, we grasped the concept of how this life force in us not only sustains us but plays an integral part of our lives. This Scriptures tells us who we are in Jesus and who He is in us: Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35 ESV. God is more than enough and He provides all that we need to live life here even in this decaying world around us. We will thrive in spite of the putrefaction we are exposed to. It is as if we are ensconce under the shelter of the Most High. We just seem to get better and better. The secret of youthfulness is Jesus, our Savior and best Friend. It is not just dressing up the outside and there is nothing on the inside. It is just a mask that the world wears to hide the ugly beneath the surface, to hide the brokenness, to hide the pain and to hide from themselves and others.
Maintaining our youthfulness is not only vital as Christians but it is imperative that we demonstrate who we are in God. We ought to shine from the inside out rather from the outside in. Our spiritual connection should be as such as being connected to the placental of life through Jesus Christ. This gives us that inner glow; that phosphorescence, the Light of the Presence of the fullness of God in us. Ultimately, the world will desire what we have and not look for it in some expensive laboratory created potion that sits on our skin giving a counterfeit glow that is only temporary. Jesus is Sustaining, Enduring, and Everlasting. His Presence radiates through us giving us the luminosity and the brilliant aura that makes us beautiful and authentic. God Himself will bestow to us His splendor. That is the essence of true beauty.
Finally, it will behoove us to remember 'that not everything that shines is gold.' Remember Lucifer? He was once considered the ' seal of perfection', full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.' 'He was covered with the most precious of gems, an anointed cherub and was perfect in his ways the day he was created by God until iniquity was found in him' (Ezekiel 28). I pray that we will not put anything or anyone above God. He reigns supreme. I pray that God's splendor within us will draw others to us and ultimately to Him. I pray that we do not make or create idols of ourselves and others. But accept the heart of everyone we meet in love. As Dr. Martin Luther King, jnr., proclaimed ...."we be judged by the content of our character." As Christians, who follow Jesus Christ, we are not only His ambassadors but we are also commissioned to preach the gospel to our lost brothers and sisters of the world by being a living testimony. Shine my dear friends shine as the Bright Morning star.
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