Growing Old

Proverbs 16:31; Psalm 92:14; Isaiah 46:4; Titus 2:2-3

Growing old, like taxes, is a fact we all must face. Now, you’re not going to get me to declare when growing up stops and growing old starts—not on your life! But there are some signs we can read along life’s journey that suggest we are entering the transition (how’s that for diplomacy?).

Physically, the aging “bod” puts on the brakes. You begin to huff and puff when you used to rip and zip. You prefer to sit more than stand . . . to watch more than to do . . . to forget your birthday rather than remember it! Mentally, the aging brain longs for relief. You can’t remember like you used to, and you don’t respond like you ought to. You start thinking more about yesterday and tomorrow and less about today. Emotionally, you undergo strange fears and feelings you once swore would “never occur in me,” such as:

  • Being negative, critical, and downright ornery at times.
  • Being reluctant to let those who are younger carry more responsibility.
  • Feeling unwanted and “in the way.”
  • Preoccupied with “what if” rather frequently.
  • Feeling guilty over previous mistakes and wrong decisions.
  • Feeling forgotten, unloved, lonely, and passed by.
  • Threatened by sounds, speed, financial uncertainty, and disease.
  • Resisting the need to adjust and adapt.

All this—and there is much more—is worsened by the memory of those days when you once were so very efficient, capable, needed, and fulfilled. As you look into the mirror, you’re forced to admit that the fingers of age have begun to scratch their marks upon your house of clay . . . and it’s hard to believe your twilight years could be of any worth.

How wrong! How terribly wrong! How destructive such thoughts can be! How quickly such thinking can sentence you to the prison cell of self-pity surrounded by the four bleak walls of doubt, depression, uselessness, and grief.

God’s patriarchs have always been among His choicest possessions. Abraham was far more effective once he grew old and mellow. Moses wasn’t used with any measure of success until he turned eighty. Caleb was eighty-five when he began to enjoy God’s best goals. Samuel was old, old when the God of Israel led him to establish the “school of the prophets,” an institution that had a lasting influence for spirituality and godliness in the centuries to come. And who could deny the way God used Paul during his last days on his knees, writing words of encouragement in letters we cherish today!

No one fails to see that growing old has its difficulties and heartaches. It does, indeed. But to see only the hot sands of your desert experience and miss the lovely oases here and there (though they may be few) is to turn the latter part of your journey through life into an arid, tasteless endurance which makes everyone miserable.

Please don’t forget—God has decided to let you live this long. Your old age is not a mistake . . . nor an oversight . . . nor an afterthought. Isn’t it about time you cooled your tongue and softened your smile with a refreshing drink from the water of God’s oasis? You’ve been thirsty a long, long time.

Taken from Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 1983, 1994, 2007 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. www.zondervan.com

Posted in Christian Living and tagged , , , .

Pastor Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word. He is the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience extends far beyond a local church body. As a leading programme in Christian broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s leadership as president and now chancellor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry.

పాస్టర్ చార్లెస్ ఆర్. స్విండాల్ దేవుని వాక్యాన్ని నిర్దిష్టంగా, ఆచరణాత్మకంగా బోధించడానికి మరియు అన్వయించడానికి తన జీవితాన్ని అంకితం చేశారు. ఆయన టెక్సాస్‌లోని ఫ్రిస్కోలోని స్టోన్‌బ్రయర్ కమ్యూనిటీ చర్చి వ్యవస్థాపక కాపరియై ఉన్నారు, అయితే చక్ యొక్క శ్రోతలు స్థానిక సంఘ పరిధి దాటి వ్యాపించి ఉన్నారు. 1979 నుండి క్రైస్తవ ప్రసరణలో ప్రముఖ కార్యక్రమంగా, ఇన్‌సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ ప్రపంచవ్యాప్తంగా ప్రసారమవుతోంది. డల్లాస్ థియోలాజికల్ సెమినరీకి ప్రెసిడెంటుగా, అలాగే ఇప్పుడు ఛాన్సిలర్ ఎమెరిటస్‌గా చక్ యొక్క నాయకత్వం క్రొత్త తరం స్త్రీపురుషులను పరిచర్య కొరకు సిద్ధపరచడంలో సహాయపడింది.