Many times as human beings we remember only the externals.
Some of us are very particular about our appearances. Worried about our faces,
our hair, our dressing, our clothes, shoes and many other items that only deal
with the external part of us. Most of us know the importance of good or healthy
diet and even the role of physical exercises, all with a focus on ensuring that
our bodies are in a good condition. As a Medical Doctor, part of my role in
clinical practice is to help people identify different factors that could be impacting
their health negatively, as well as recommending appropriate lifestyle changes,
which may include diet and exercise, to help them improve or maintain their
health.
Sadly, many of us believers in Christ are almost completely
fixated on the externals that we forget about the inner man.
“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man” Romans 7:22 KJV
We sometimes forget that there is more to us than just our
physical bodies. Man as a being is made up of physical and non-physical
aspects. The inner man is the unseen aspect of our beings in contrast to the
external part of us, our bodies. Described by some as the soul, this aspect of
man is also referred to in many Bible passages as the heart; not the blood
pumping muscular organ present in your chest cavity but the center of one’s
moral, spiritual and intellectual life.
In 2nd Corinthians 4:7-9, we find Apostle Paul describing
how in spite of so many contrary circumstances outwardly, they were able to
withstand all the pressures and maintain their stand in God:
“But we have this
treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God,
and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not
destroyed” 2nd Corinthians 4:7-9 KJV
Further down in the same chapter, he then gives us the
reason for their strength:
“For which cause
we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed
day by day.” 2nd Corinthians 4:16 KJV
The state of the inner man is very critical to your life. A
strong inner man makes you overcome adversity, stops you from giving up in the
face of challenges.
It is important that you pay attention to the inner man.
Just as we feed the outer man, and pick our clothes and dresses to look good,
we ought to be more intentional about ensuring that the inner man is well cared
for. The Apostle Peter wrote in a section of his epistle addressing women:
“Your beauty
should not consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and the wearing
of gold ornaments or fine clothes. Instead, it should consist of what is inside
the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is
very valuable in God’s eyes” 1st Peter 3:3 & 4 HCSB.
The Holy Spirit through Peter is not banning our women from
wearing fine clothes or gold or braiding their hair as some have concluded.
This is rather a call on us to shift our focus from the external or outward
appearance to the inner or inward man.
How well are you taking care of that aspect of
your being? How well are you caring for your inward man? This week I pray for
you in the words of Paul that God would grant you, according to the riches of
His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man (Ephesians
3:16).
To be continued...
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