That is why we do not lose heart, but even though our outer man is deteriorating, yet our inner man is renewed day by day (2Corinthians 4:16)
Wilfred Yoder was one of the most zealous Christians I knew, although he suffered greatly for many years from arthritis. If people greet him, "How are you?" he beamingly replied, "good!"
Those who knew full well the pain he suffered from the disease sometimes questioned whether he was telling the truth or not. "How can you say you are well when you are in so much pain?" Wilfred's answer was always: "What I feel has no effect on how I am. You see, the part of me that is sick is just skin deep, not who I really am, and who I really am is fine!"
What Wilfred calls the outer shell, Paul calls the tabernacle (2 Corinthians 5:1). And the "real self" that Wilfred meant, Paul called the inner man (2 Cor 4:16).
Although the tabernacle where Wilfred lives on earth is painful and on the verge of collapse, he realizes that it is only a temporary place for his inner man. One day he will replace it with a permanent home waiting for him in heaven. That's the belief. Until that moment became a reality, Wilfred's inner man was visibly renewed day by day.
How are you today? Is your tent deteriorating? Remember, if Christ is your Savior and Lord, a perfect body awaits you one day. No matter what our external condition is, from within, we can say that, "I am in good condition!" -- JAY
* Take from Renungan Harian