Genesis 47:8 Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?” NIV Bible
This is really when the Pharaoh asked Joseph’s father, Jacob, later called Israel, “How old he was?” The thing is this question that isn’t always well received. Actually, my age, although it’s creeping up there, doesn’t bother me. I realized a long time ago, that people have come to dread getting older, because of all the media hype about people needing to be youthful and attractive to have value. I figured the best thing I could do was to be an example to my family that there’s nothing wrong with aging! It’s a good thing that God had this on my heart some years ago, because the wrinkles and saggy skin are really starting to be more apparent.
The question that always was more of an issue for me was, “How much do you weigh?” I guess, first of all, it seems somewhat intrusive for someone to ask that of another person. I think that I tense up when I’ve heard this question, although the Lord God has blessed me with a weight loss of over 80 pounds, and has allowed the vast majority of the weight to stay off for over 30 years. It immediately transports me back to a time where I was the last person picked for a sport, the person that other people tended to ignore, and the person that had a sagging self-esteem!
Fortunately for me, the Lord God
showed me that when I put all these insecurities into Christ’s very capable
hands, I don’t have to let questions like this cause such a reaction. It’s not
because I’m no longer heavy, it’s more that the Lord has shown me that I’m a
child of God, no matter what I weigh. No matter whether I’m thin or heavy or
something in between. My weight and my age don’t determine who I am as a
person, but my faith in Christ is the biggest determiner of my life and my
inner peace which comes from the Lord!
