The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head.
Proverbs 20:29
We live in a nation and at a time when our culture values youth. On those few occasions when I watch a football game, I am amazed at the commercials. Just about every product contains the overt or covert promise that use of that product will keep us young. An example of an overt promise would be a commercial for a product that promises men to regrow their hair. A covert promise is a commercial for a beverage that suggests, based on the scenes and individuals it portrays, that if you drink that beverage you will be a vibrant and energetic individual.
As a counselor, I cannot tell you how many men I’ve walked with who are suffering with a mid-life crisis because they realize that there aren’t enough beverages, pills, food, exercise machines, or young associates to keep them from aging. The Bible has all sorts of reminders that our time on earth has an expiration date and that our bodies are “wasting away” (2 Corinthians 4:16). The author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 102 in reminding us that, unlike Jesus, we will “wear out like a garment” (Hebrews 1:11-12, ESV). When all is said and done, one of the strongest indicators of Christian maturity is a person’s ability to be at peace with the specific season of life he or she is in.
In addition to the proverb above, which reminds us that there is a difference between what we are to experience as younger and older people, one of my favorites is Proverbs 16:31, which states, “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life” (ESV). You see, while we may have had strength as young people, wisdom has to be earned. Wisdom is not earned instantly or overnight. It is earned by experiencing both joy and suffering. By winning and losing. By observing the coming and going of seasons, finances, and people. In the end, wisdom is earned by living many decades and seasons.
So, if you are tempted to feel bad about getting older, may I suggest you reflect on the following:
- Are you grateful that God has allowed you to live as long as He has? Can you make a list of all you are grateful to have seen because of your age?
- If you could travel back in time, what are all of the life lessons you are grateful that you have learned, even if those lessons were painful to experience?
- After reading Proverbs 16:31, can you look at old age differently?
Published on Jan 24 @ 3:04 AM EDT
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Streams in the Desert: Morning and Evening
By: L.B. Cowman, Compiler
“My grace is sufficient for you”.
2 Corinthians 12:9
God was pleased to take my youngest child from this world, under circumstances that caused me severe trials and pain. And as I returned home from the church cemetery, having just laid my little one’s body in the grave, Ifelt a compulsion to preach to my people on the meaning of trials.
I found that the verse “My grace is sufficient for you” was the text of next week’s Sunday school lesson, so I chose it asmy Master’s message to the congregation, as well as His message to me. Yet while trying to write the sermon, I foundthat in all honesty, I could not say that the words were true in my life. Therefore I knelt down and asked the Lord to make His grace sufficient for me. While I was pleading in this way, I opened my eyes and saw this exact verse framedand hanging on the wall. My mother had given it to me a few days before, when I was still at the vacation resort where our little child had been taken from us. I had asked someone to hang it on the wall at home during my absence but had not yet noticed its words. Now as I looked up and wiped my eyes, the words met my gaze: “My grace is sufficient for you.”
The word “is” was highlighted in bright green, while the words “my” and “you” were painted in yet another color. In a moment, a message flashed straight to my soul, coming as a rebuke for having prayed such a prayer as, “Lord, make Your grace sufficient for me.” His answer was almost an audible voice that said, “How dare you ask for something that is? I cannot make My grace any more sufficient than I have already made it. Get up and believe it, and you will find it to be true in your life.”
The Lord says it in the simplest way: “My grace is [not will be or may be] sufficient for you.” The words “my,” “is,” and “you” were from that moment indelibly written upon my heart. And thankfully, I have been trying to live in the reality of that truth from that day to the present time.
The underlying lesson that came to me through this experience, and that I seek to convey to others, is this: Never change God’s facts into hopes or prayers but simply accept them as realities, and you will find them to be powerful as you believe them. H. W. WEBB PEPLOE
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercies,
To multiplied trials His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit,
His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
PRAYER
You, oh Lord, are my strength. You have granted me your peace in the midst my every challenge. I lean upon You and look to You for your grace. Remind me that your grace is all that I need. When I am weak, may I experience the power of Your strength at work in my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Published on Jan 24 @ 12:40 AM EDT
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