Some of you may be struggling right now and finding it difficult to recognize the many blessings Father has given you. But I want you to ask yourself: “Has God brought any good things into my life?”
Beloved one, first and foremost—aren’t you going to heaven? Has He ever given you anything that has brought you pleasure or happiness? Did you ever enjoy spending time with family and friends? Has anybody ever shown you love? Did someone ever demonstrate kindness to you? Maybe you liked the outdoors and playing with your classmates when you were younger? Do you enjoy looking at God’s amazing creation? Do you still relish the food that you eat? Are you able to see or hear? Do you have relationships that bring you satisfaction and fulfillment?
Every one of these that adds to our joy, every simple pleasure that we have ever experienced or that we are capable of feeling—is a gift from God.
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:17, NASB).
God is truly good, and He is worthy to be praised! He desires for us to walk with an attitude of thanksgiving.
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Yeshua told a story about 10 lepers (Luke 17:11-19). He healed 10, but only one came back and gave thanks. Jesus said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they?” (Luke 17:17).
I believe this is, unfortunately, the mindset of many of us today. Only about 10% of us are thanking Father God for all the good that He has brought into our lives. If we want to experience more of God’s goodness, we need to acknowledge what He has already done. And it is a choice. We are self-aware; we can decide if we are going to be thankful or if we are going to be ungrateful.
Let us consider the words of King David: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle” (Ps. 103:2-5, NASB 1995).
I was recently visiting a friend who is 91 years old. She has known the Lord for over 50 years. Every time I see her, it is as though she had just been saved the week before. At each visit, she has got a new joy or a fresh revelation. She has never stopped hungering or thirsting for the things of God.
When I entered her apartment, the instant I laid my eyes on her, I saw the dew of heaven on her face. Yes, her hair is all gray, and she can hardly walk. She is bound to her apartment and doesn’t get out. Yet heaven was resting on her face. There was a peace. There was a youth. There was a beauty. And I said in my heart, “I am witnessing the reality of God’s Word. That truly, those that are His, that put Him first—Elohim the Creator will be their portion even when their hairs are gray.” Beloved, just as David said, we will be transformed day by day so that our youth is being renewed like an eagle. Praise HaShem!
You may be sitting somewhere right now and thinking, “My youth is not being renewed like the eagle.” I am speaking particularly to some of us, who as we are aging, we are dealing with things in our lives and in our body that we never experienced when we were younger. Maybe our eyesight or hearing is going bad, and all the other things we sometimes need to deal with that come with age. I understand that. In fact, the Bible tells us that the outer man is decaying, but not to lose heart.
“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).
The person that we actually are is not the outer man. It is not our hair, body, face or even our vital organs; all of that is going to fade away. We are going to leave our bodies. It is not our outer man right now that is being renewed, even though God does bring restoration at times to our physical bodies. We are talking about our inner man. If we are truly going after God in spirit and in truth, our inner man is being daily renewed.
God’s promises are reality. You can sink your teeth into them. Those who are going to please God must believe that He is and that He is bound by His Word to be a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). Will you go after God?
I can assure you of this: if you will go after Him and make Him first in your life, He will never leave you, He will never forsake you, and just as Jesus saved the good wine until last when He performed His first miracle, the last years of your life will be the best years of your life in the spirit. The power of God will become stronger and stronger and stronger upon you. Your spirit will more and more come into unity with HaShem, with Father God, and even though your outer man is decaying, your inner man will be renewed and rise up—with the strength of an eagle.
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Rabbi Kirt Schneider hosts the impactful television program “Discovering The Jewish Jesus,” which is available in more than 200 million homes in the United States and nearly 200 nations worldwide. In 2021 he began broadcasting on radio and now airs across America. Rabbi Schneider imparts revelation of Jesus’ Jewish heritage and His fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Questions of how the Old and New Testaments tie together and how Yeshua completes the unfolding plan of The Almighty Yahweh are answered with exceptional clarity. www.discoveringthejewishjesus.com/about-2/rabbi-schneider/. Experience a divine encounter with God in his new book, “A Journey Into Divine Love,” available at this link.
Abby Trivett 
Marilyn Hickey Ministries 
