God and Aging

 

 

READ Psalm 71–75

More and more I’m seeing the differences between human wisdom and God’s wisdom, human thinking and the will of God. Someone said to me, “It must be easier to be a Christian as you get older.” These words burn in my heart as I realize the length of the journey combined with my grandmother’s words: “Too old too soon, too late smart.” With age comes weakness, yet with experience comes a knowledge of God that was completely unknown to me as a youth.

This morning I asked the Lord to show me Himself in His Word. Instead, He gave me a glimpse at myself along with the contrast of fleshy, human thinking compared to what is true in the kingdom of God. First came a prayer that reflects a desire that comes with passing years and a deepening relationship with Him:

Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone. O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. (Psalm 71:9; 15–18)

God reveals how a spiritual person looks to the end of life with a hopeful attitude. Instead of being ‘put out to pasture’ growing older is not a fear but an exciting adventure. I think of my relative who just died at 104 and still had a desire to work and contribute to the world — and he was not a religious man. Shame on any Christians who ‘retire’ from spiritual activity and retreat into complaints about aging and their aching bodies. Instead, the psalmist says:

You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again. (Psalm 71:20–21)

Nor should we dread death. God not only says, “He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life” but adds “and precious is their blood in his sight.” (Psalm 72:13–14) Death is not the end yet so many elderly fear it, even elderly Christians. I don’t want to fear that which ushers me into eternal life with my Lord and Savior. By His grace, I want to always think and say:

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen! (Psalm 72:18–19)

These days of war in Ukraine and the evil done for reasons beyond me are on my heart too, yet God speaks to that also. He knows I need to hear the experience of the psalm writer:

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms . . . . Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:16–26)

And He adds thoughts for prayer concerning this evil: “For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you” (Psalm 73:27) and “Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day! Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!” (Psalm 74:22–23) and “but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.” (Psalm 75:7–8)

If getting older means learning more of the power and wisdom of God, then bring it on. Grant me, O Lord, the grace to keep my mind on You and Your thoughts, not on the problems of having an aging body and an often forgetful mind. Human thinking gives in to self-pity and regrets; godly thinking seeks Your face and deeper understanding. It is filled with praise for the goodness and glory of who You are and what You are doing. May that be my focus today and always!

 

God speaks to my heart

 

 

READ Psalm 46-50

For several weeks, my first thoughts and prayers in the morning are for the Ukraine. Today, I asked the Lord to speak to that situation, partly so I know how to pray and mostly to affirm His involvement in the events and the lives of His people who are living there. This is what I hear from His Word. First, I am not to fear:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah (Psalm 46:1–3)

Second, I’m to consider the history of His power and promises — like this one:

Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah (Psalm 46:8–11)

The bottom line is: “God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.” (Psalm 47:8) Faith means trusting Him to have His way, even if the news makes much of terrible events that I don’t understand. I keep thinking how the disciples felt when Jesus, the sinless God-man, was killed. How can we now call that event “Good Friday” — yet it didn’t end there. The above verses tell me that God is not finished yet with this conflict.

I also asked God about those I pray for, some of them are younger relatives who live in a world that discourages faith in God and uses the name of His Son as a swear word. Sometimes my heart is heavy when thinking of their fate, yet God answers that too, giving me this:

Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever. (Psalm 48:12–14)

This isn’t about a literal walk but considering what God has already done and thinking of His great power. I’m to tell the next generation about Him and what He has done, that He does not change and still can do those things and even greater. He will guide me in the telling, but He will also guide them in how they respond to what they hear.

Of course I thought of the difficulties of speaking up for God in the culture we live in. It is far more focused on money than spiritual truth. I wondered about how God thinks about this distraction in their lives. He says:

Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself— his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish. (Psalm 49:16–20)

What can I do about that? Very little. But God can bring people to their knees whose god is their bank account. Money has wings. As the cost of living rises, the toys people can afford decreases. High prices, lost jobs, poor investments, sudden losses, all sorts of things can topple that idol. God knows what to do to humble the pride of those who worship their own ability to prosper. As hard as that seems, the greater need is never money. It is always Jesus.

Daily devotions are supposed to be a search for God’s wisdom for each day, listening to what He tells me and being obedient to His leading. Here is the bottom line for my life and how I need to think and act on this day, the middle of Easter when we ponder the wonder of His dying and the greatest wonder of all, that He lives.

“Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” and “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” (Psalm 50:15; 23)

Keep calling on the Lord to take care of me, offering thanksgiving no matter what happens and obey Him anyway . . . and He will reveal His saving power in the Ukraine, in those who don’t know Him, in those whose focus is money, and in me — who needs Him every day for everything.