Old Age

             Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Isaiah 46:4)

                When you’re young, you think that when you get old, you’ll “get to” relax a little, sit back, enjoy the good life after decades of hard labor. Of course, those of us who are over 50 figure out that it’s not true. We don’t “get to” do less than others.  At least some of us have no choice. And it’s not that we get to take things easier, because everything we do is harder. Friends and family die, are too busy, or can’t be bothered to help; our body parts and finances behave similarly. Oh, there are some great things about being older. I’m happier now than I was for most of my life, and there are challenges in every age group, but for at least some older folks, or for most older folks in one way or another, there’s a sense of failure and abandonment.

                Granted, that sense may not be justified, but that doesn’t mean it’s not felt. We may feel guilty going to God with our sore knees, aching hearts, anxious minds, or lonely spirits. But old age and gray hair aren’t a problem for God. He promises to sustain us, carry us, and rescue us. Of course, His ideas of sustaining, carrying, and rescuing us often aren’t the same as ours. It may include our going through hard times and even dying, because it involves bringing us into eternity.

                The big problem, of course, is that as we get older, while the present has its challenges, the future is intimidating and even frightening. The challenges that aren’t here yet whisper their dire predictions. They chatter and giggle as they predict calamity. But if we believe God will care for us, we need to learn to reject their doomsaying and turn our attention to God and to what is going on here and now, because together with God, we can do something about what is here and now.