For one thing, I'm about twice as slow and exponentially less motivated to perform well on the job. For another thing, I find myself, groaning, straining, heaving, and pulling much harder on heavy boxes, boxes that I normally handle with ease.
So what can I take away from this? Well, I have been reminded of how a young man's strength is his glory but that, "All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off." (1 Peter 1:24)
I realized that someday, this tiredness and weakening of my physical stamina and abilities will be everyday, not just when I'm sick. So I am resolved to never smirk or chuckle when I see an older man struggling with physical exertion that I can knock out very easily right now.
A second lesson that I am learning is that, as Psalm 119:71 says, "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes." What statutes in particular? I found Deuteronomy 8:16-18 to be particularly convicting:
"In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."
I have been reminded that it is not by the strength of my own hands that my ways prosper, but because of the blessing of the Lord.
So, to all the young men who may read this, I would exhort you to remember not to boast in your strength or vigor, but to remember that the LORD is the one who trains our hands to war, our fingers for the fight, our bodies for the work set before us.
Finally, as J.C. Ryle said, in his book "Thoughts for Young Men",
"Your time is short. Your days are but a brief shadow, a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes, a story that is soon told. Your bodies are not made of brass...Oh that you would all take to heart the words of the Preacher: 'Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment...Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;'"
Redeem the time, young men, for the days are evil and your bodies slowly but surely decay. One day, your strength will fail, but those "who wait for the LORD will gain new strength."
