As all of us grow older we understand the truth that our outer person is decaying. We may think that we can prolong it but our bodies will one day wear out. However, if our inner person has life, though we may die on the outside, the inside of us will be renewed and become stronger and be refreshed for it will never decay.
II Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
If we follow the instructions the Lord has given to us then we will soar like an eagle on the inside and we will gain new strength. We will run and not get tired and we will walk and not become weary.
Isaiah 40:31 Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Our youth will be renewed like the eagle. A Christian is the only one whose youth is renewed though he grows older. It is our endless dissatisfaction in life and seeking after things that will never satisfy that saps us of our strength and makes us feel old before our time. Let the Lord satisfy your years with good things and let Him fulfill you.
Psalm 103:5 Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
As our inner person is being renewed it is also being transformed, or at least, it should be in the process of being changed. If you are a Christian then His blueprint for you is that you will become conformed to the image of Christ. He made us in His image and that is His design for each of us.
I John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
He conforms us into the image of Christ by transforming us through His Word. His blood washes our conscience clean and then He renews our mind so that we will act in accordance to His will.
Hebrews 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
The Lord wants to transform you through His Word.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
However, if you neglect getting in His Word then He will often bring people alongside you who will share His Word with you. This is the Lord trying to speak to you. They are not as gentle as His Spirit but none the less, they are His instruments for your good.
I Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
If, however, you still resist His Spirit then He will discipline you if you are His child. Now, the Lord says that discipline can be painful but it is for your good. It is because you were not obedient earlier to what He had shown you. The purpose of discipline is to bring you back to Him and get you back on track so that you can become like Him and experience His plan for your life.
Hebrews 12:11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
The Lord has a plan for your life but to fully experience that plan you must stay in His will and continually be transformed into the image of Christ. He speaks to us in three different ways. First of all, He wants to speak to you through His Spirit and His Word. If you do not listen then often He will speak to you through people. If you still do not listen then He will speak to you through circumstances. If you hate unnecessary pain then stay in His Word and when He speaks to you listen. This is one of the reasons why Jesus Christ kept saying when He was on earth, “He who has ears to hear, let Him hear”.
Acts 28:27 For the heart of this people has become dull,
And with their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes;
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.”’
Do you need healing? Do you have areas that need changing? Let Him heal you so that you might be whole again. Let Him change you. His changes are lasting and they are not “turning over a new leaf” by trying harder. He makes you like Christ. Beloved, one day you will be like Him. Do not lose heart.
Instructions To A Young Life 