God's Fountain of Youth
Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalms 103:5 (NKJV)
His flesh shall be fresher than a child's: he shall return to the days of his youth. Job 33:25 (KJV)
Scripture points to the anti-aging properties available to us through God. Psalm 103:5 specifically states that He renews our youth like the eagle. What exactly does that mean? How is recapturing youth related to eagles? In researching this, I found the following explanation in Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Bible.
“The eagle is long-lived, and, as naturalists say, when she is nearly 100 years old, casts all her feathers (as indeed she changes them in a great measure every year at moulting time), and fresh ones come, so that she becomes young again. When God, by the graces and comforts of his Spirit, recovers his people from their decays, and fills them with new life and joy, which is to them an earnest of eternal life and joy, then they may be said to return to the days of their youth.”
Can it really be true that God can reverse the aging process? The Word gives us many examples like Moses, Caleb, and Joshua, all who lived to ripe old ages. Even science is baffled at the aging of the human body, given the fact that it has the innate ability to regenerate cells and tissue on a continual basis. Researchers have wondered why the body ages because it is designed to live on and on. You and I know that the aging process came about as the result of sin. Sin set death into motion in the earth, and the body is affected by it, causing it to age.
However, the born-again believer is free from death, since Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. Why then do Christians continue to age and why do many deal with age-related illnesses and limitations? It’s due to simple unbelief. We just don’t believe that God can turn back the clock on our bodies and keep us youthful. It seems too far-fetched for our logical, human thinking- like something out of science fiction. I am not picking on you or anyone else because I am including myself in this. We have been innundated with messages from our youth about aging and illness going hand-in-hand. We have become programmed to expect our bodies to decay and break down as they age.
But if the Word says that God is in the youth renewing business, then it must be true, since God does not lie. How do we tap into this heavenly fountain of youth? Essentially, we must re-program our thinking in this area. If we have been exposed to years and years of wrong messages about this, we will have to expose ourselves to a ton of the right messages. In other words, we need to get the scripture verses on staying youthful and post them where we can see them over and over. We need to speak those verses and claim them over and over. When symptoms come that tell us we are getting old and worn out, we need to stand against them and speak the life-giving Word of God.
In addition, we need to cooperate by eating right and getting regular exercise. Success in any area comes through pairing spiritual truths with physical actions.
Finally, we need to stay clear from strife, division, anger, unforgiveness, and bitterness. Sins like these will all allow the enemy to gain access to our lives and our physical bodies.
It’s a lot of work, and it takes long-term persistence and dedication, which is why we don’t see many people in their eighties acting like they are in their twenties. I am just beginning a journey towards better health and age-reversal, and I look forward to reclaiming the vitality that the enemy has tried to steal from me. I hope you will do the same. Let’s make it our goal to live long and live strong by accessing God’s fountain of youth. In so doing, we will position ourselves to reach people with God’s love for many, many years to come.
