“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41)
If you are a man of God, what I would call a working man, you will understand this letter fully if you have several decades of life behind you. If you are still what could be considered a relatively young man, then learn from these truths.
“By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.” (Heb. 11:21)
From the moment the wrestling match ended, the grandson of Abraham needed assistance to walk, and I may be going out on a limb here, but I would guess the staff that he used until he died was laying somewhere near where that wrestling match occurred. God works that way sometimes.
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.” (John 21:18)
The brawny, tough hardened fisherman, used to getting what he wanted, used to throwing his weight around, unable to stop those from taking him where he did not want to go. Strength of the flesh diminished, strength of the Spirit far above what many of us will ever know.
“Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.” (Gal. 4:15)
Needing to dictate all those words received by him because he could not see the parchment they were written on.
Those men of God, and thousands, perhaps millions more understand fully what this letter is about today. It has nothing at all to do with pride, not one thing about it is associated with vanity or not submitting fully to the will of the Most High. It has everything with being angered by our own flesh.
When it no longer adheres to our demands, the working man, if he does not have the Lord Jesus Christ to lean on, if he does not believe fully in the promises to come, then that anger is something indeed to behold. Most unrepentant men who fall into this category will attempt to hide that anger, if pride cannot be exhibited in an external way by the flesh, the body any longer, that anger will fester within them.
“I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25)
David knew this truth of age as well.
Those unrepentant old men will relive their glory days with whoever will listen, and rarely if ever will you hear of any of their failures.
If you are one of the chosen, and you are a man of God who understands this letter full well, then when you think of being reunited with your glorified body, a smile crosses your face. You understand no more pain, no more suffering, both of the flesh and the mind. And I would presume that you do not spend much time reliving in your mind those glory days, but instead look at today and the promises of tomorrow.
We do particularly like having to use a staff, having to be carried anywhere, or needing assistance.
I would like to add something else here, it is to the wives of those men this letter is mostly addressed to. You must be able to assist your husband in those times of trials in this regard, to understand a truth the world likes to say, but is really only truth for those who live Ephesians 5:31.
“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.”
Love is blind indeed for those wives.
These can be difficult days for the man of God, the timbers begin to shake, the windows become dimmer over time, and honestly my friends, as one who is experiencing many of these truths, I know two things for a fact. One is that I cannot comprehend the loss those unrepentant men experience, and two, without my lovely wife’s assistance, I would be lost in this.
One of those pleasures forevermore is youth and vigor never-ending.