“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” — 2 Corinthians 4:16
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Like many of us, I spent my childhood and adolescence playing sports. If I wasn’t on a baseball field or basketball court, I was in my backyard or driveway playing something.
I discovered tennis in my teenage years, and something clicked. It came more naturally than anything else I’d tried, so I poured my energy into getting better, loving the challenge and strategy of the game. I wasn’t a gym rat or a stretching fanatic, but my body cooperated. I rarely got injured, bounced back quickly and just assumed it would always be that way.
I continued playing tennis competitively in my 20s and mixed in some pick-up basketball, again avoiding any major injuries. But once I turned 30, it was almost as if a flip was switched and my body instantly started on a decline. Though I’ve dealt with back issues stemming from scoliosis since I was young, physical activity had always helped the pain. But now, it’s as if I can’t do anything without hurting myself.
The back issues have worsened into regular spasms, and along with that has come neck issues, a pulled hamstring from recreational softball and, most recently, a sprained knee, strained calf and partially torn meniscus from a recreational basketball injury.
As our bodies age, the aches last longer. Injuries pop up more often. Recovery feels like it’s stuck in slow motion.
It’s incredibly frustrating when our mind wants to do something that our body no longer allows. Personally, I have stopped playing tennis as much because it’s hard for me to not play the way I’m used to. When I try to play at full speed, I often injure myself again.
For anyone who’s ever been an athlete, the competitive fire never really goes away, but our body doesn’t simply doesn’t cooperate the way it used to. And while the world might write this off as aging or decline, Scripture invites us to see something deeper: spiritual renewal.
In 2 Corinthians 4 (above), Paul reminds us that even as our bodies wear down, something sacred is happening on the inside. The Spirit of God is at work — strengthening our character, deepening our dependence and reorienting our identity from what we do to who we are in Christ.
Your worth isn’t measured by how fast you run, how many points you score or how many sets you win. It’s not tied to your vertical leap, how far you can drive a golf ball or your serve speed. Those things are gifts, yes, but they are temporary. What lasts is the heart being shaped by Jesus.
So play if you can. Rest when you need to. Stretch, ice, rehab. But don’t mourn the slowdown as loss. Take time to thank God for the gift of movement, competition and physical activity, and for a body that allows you to do it, even if it’s not like it used to be.
Ultimately, see it as a holy shift — an invitation to anchor your life in a deeper strength that never wears out. As your body changes and slows, ask God to help you to not grow discouraged but to grow deeper in a relationship with Him. Ask Him to teach you to see each limitation as an invitation to depend on Him more fully.
— Cole Claybourn
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