Courage for the Gray

Our family doctor quoted Billy Graham as saying,"Aging is not for the faint of heart." I have to agree with him.  In addition to the aches and pains there is the change in our appearance.  Every once in a while I catch myself in the mirror and wonder who that person is.  But most surprising is the change in the way people relate to you.   A lot of it is good.  People often treat you with special consideration.  At the Hyatt recently the desk clerk ask me if I want a room on a higher floor, or lower.  She also ask me if I was sensitive to sound.  I wanted to laugh out loud.  Of course I want a floor near the ground, in case of a fire drill (which I have lived through several times). The question of sound was the one that caught me off guard.  Just ask my wife about my snoring.  The other guests may be the ones who have trouble with sound pollution.

The Word of God has some great encouragement for those approaching their golden years.  

" You who have been borne by Me from birth

         And have been carried from the womb;

         Even to your old age I will be the same,

         And even to your graying years I will bear you!

         I have done it, and I will carry you;

         And I will bear you and I will deliver you."  Is 46:3–4.

It's easy, as you age, to lose courage.  You don't have the same energy or stamina.  Culture changes and you sometimes feel out of touch.  Younger people don't always know how much you know or have accomplished over the years.  They may not realize what an asset you can be, rather than a liability.  Western culture is the worse in this regard. 

Regardless, the Lord offers courage and hope for all, especially those who feel weak (or weaker).  We trusted Him in times past and He remains trustworthy.  He never changes. He promises to carry us along, to bear us and deliver us.  When younger we learned the secret of the Christian walk was not to rely on our own resources but on Christ's.  Now is a great time to continue to apply what we have learned. 

Caleb is a tremendous example for us.  Full of faith at age 45 when he went in to spy out the promised land.  Remember he and Joshua were the two who gave a good report, the other 10 were full of fear and doubts. Forty years later, when Joshua was leading Israel in successful campaigns in the promised land, Caleb remembered Moses' promise to him and claimed his inheritance.

 "Then the sons of Judah drew near to Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the word which the LORD spoke to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh-barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the LORD my God fully. So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God fully. Now behold, the LORD has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today. I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in. Now then, give me this hill country about which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the LORD will be with me, and I will drive them out as the LORD has spoken.”  (New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jos 14:6–12.)

Gray hair is no excuse for sitting back and collecting dust.  We should and must continue to trust God not only that He will take care of us, but also that we can take care of others.  Our best and most important exploits may still be ahead.  Certainly we have much to offer others and can be a great resource for the young.  We must continue to ask God, "What do you have for me this year? How can I serve you?"  Unless He provides the health, the resources, and the spiritual power we can do nothing, but neither can anyone at any age.  God's promises are just as true now as ever before.  He hasn't changed and neither have his promises.

“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you' Jn 15:16.