Growing Old

Recently, I was invited to join Facebook by some friends. I cre-ated my profile and was able to connect with one of my high school classmates. As we updated each other on what we have been up to since graduation, it suddenly dawned on me that I graduated from Mountain View Academy 30 years ago! This realization made me recognize that I am now living in the last third of my life on this earth; wondering where all the time has gone. I was feeling a little sad when the reality of getting old hit. The next morning while I was reading my Bible, I came across these verses in Psalm 92:12-15 “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright, he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’”
The sentence that gave me hope and joy is “They will still bear fruit in old age; they will stay fresh and green” (Psalm 92:14). God promises to help all of us to be productive in our lives, no matter how old we are, when we let Him lead our lives. In the last third of Moses’ life, he was called to lead God’s people out of bondage. Moses was one of the greatest leaders who ever lived and God used him when he had already turned 80!
It is not how long we live but how we live our lives on this earth. When we believe in God and walk together with Him, we will be fruitful even when we are old. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Galatians 5:22). These fruits are the results of how closely we walk with God and are not dependent on how old or young we are; or on how fast or slow we accomplish certain tasks. God is patient and He will walk with us at our own pace.
Each day, as we journey together with God, let us remember that He is the one that gives us strength and sustains us so that we can achieve our goals in life. Let us hold on to God and walk with Him faithfully, while waiting for His second coming to take us home.
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
Minh Merideth