Now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today. I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in.

          Joshua 14:10-11

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

                2 Corinthians 4:16

How’s your inner man? Today, we close out our look at “The Old And The New” by looking at spiritual vitality. This especially goes out to all of those who find themselves aging. Remember, it’s our spiritual health that dictates all of the rest (physical, mental, emotional). Even if we are young and in our prime, a heavy heart and spiritual unrest can cause us to not feel our best. 

This world is full of advertisements peddling the products that are going to help us live life at the most optimum level. And there may be value to some of these products but it is the human heart that truly dictates the ebb and flow of our lives (Proverbs 4:23). So how is your inner man? How are you doing spiritually? I believe that we can have the same outlook as did Caleb in the Old Testament. If you have been with us throughout “The Old And The New” Series then you are familiar with Caleb. He was one of the two (2) men, along with Joshua, that believed God when the people of Israel had an opportunity to enter into the land promised by God. But their unbelief kept them out and an entire generation had to die before God would bring the people back to the threshold of the land. But despite the unbelief of the masses, God honored the faith of Joshua and Caleb. Remember that! That is going to be critical in understanding as we discuss the issue of spiritual vitality. Because of the unbelief of the people, Caleb had to wait forty-five (45) years to enter the Promised Land. But listen to his testimony to God’s faithfulness: “Now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today.” Caleb knew that it was the Lord that had allowed him to live all of those years and that God was going to give him the opportunity to see the land. It’s important for us to remember that God will be faithful toward those with individual faith even in the midst of unbelief from the masses. This is true in a nation, a community, a family, and even in a church. God is looking for men and women willing to move out in faith and it doesn’t require the faith of anyone else in order for the blessings of God to be seen in our lives. However, the unbelief of the many can delay the promises of God being fulfilled. To be sure, they will be fulfilled but sometimes there is a delay because of unbelief. But for Caleb, that delay would be worth it because God was honoring his faith all of those years as the people wandered through the wilderness. Caleb was now ready to receive his reward for believing God even when others did not.

But it’s the next declaration that Caleb makes that hits directly to the issue of spiritual vitality. “I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in.” Did you catch that? Caleb was announcing that he still had the same strength, the same determination, and the same spiritual vitality that he enjoyed when he was forty (40) years old. That’s right! He was an eighty-five (85) year old man enjoying the same vitality as he had when he was forty (40). I believe that the same opportunity is ours as we age. Spiritual vitality can be ours when we make walking in the power of the Holy Spirit and serving the Lord with our whole heart the priority of our lives. On average, humans live around seven (7), eight (8), or nine (9) decades on this earth…then enter into eternity. Some live longer, some don’t live that long, but on average, that’s what we’re looking at. How are we living those years? Are we prioritizing eternal things or are we, like lemmings, chasing after all of the temporal things of the world that are quickly passing away? Consider Paul’s instruction:

Therefore be careful how you walk (live), not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Ephesians 5:15-17

For Caleb, there was but one focus, one goal…to walk with God all the days of his life. And God’s response to his faith? He allowed him to live long enough to see the land that was promised and gave him spiritual and physical vitality as well. Caleb was as strong and determined at eighty-five (85) years than he was at forty (40). Don’t forget the tree in Psalm 1:

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.

      Psalm 1:1-3

This is the legacy for those who prioritize walking in the power of the word of God and in the strength found in the Spirit. So what does the New Testament say about spiritual vitality?

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

                2 Corinthians 4:16

“We do not lose heart…” This is the declaration that everyone in Christ can claim over their own life. Just like Caleb and his experience of seeing God’s provision, promises, and protection is our’s in Christ. And why do we not lose heart? Because, although “our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” As Christians, we are aging, as is the rest of the world too, but we can see the power of God displayed in our inner man everyday, renewing, restoring, and redeeming our lives because of the Spirit that lives within our hearts. I believe this is why Paul prayed this way for the 1st century believers:

(I pray) that He (God) would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man…

    Ephesians 3:16

This is the spiritual vitality that, we as Christians, should be experiencing in our inner man. Jesus even talked of this reality even before the Holy Spirit was given to the church:

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

      John 7:38-39

From Caleb’s testimony of his spiritual strength matching that of his younger self, to the fact that we don’t lose heart because of the spiritual renewal that we have available to us everyday by the Spirit of God, we can live lives of victory in Christ. And as we age, we don’t have to age like the world, who is without Christ and hope, rather we can age with a fire in our hearts and a click in our step because of the tremendous power of the Spirit of God alive and well in our hearts!

He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power.Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, 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.

    Isaiah 40:29-31