Getting Old is Hard! by Lane Jordan Burday
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).
I had a birthday last month and the years it held and the way I think and feel don’t match! It makes me wonder, why is getting old so hard? I believe it’s much harder for women because we are trying to stay and look young because that’s what the magazines, movies, and TV show us.
But praise our God who sees us differently! He looks at our hearts and wants us to grow into the image of His Son, Jesus, not caring how we look on the outside. Knowing this gives me such peace. I love what He said to Samuel when he was looking for the next king of Israel:
But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD loos at the heart.’
That verse encourages me. I am getting older, and look older, but God will sustain me, and His Holy Spirit will live in me so that I grow in God. Nothing is more important in our lives than that.
Here are some more verses about aging that I hope will encourage you also.
Wisdom and Honor in Old Age:
- Proverbs 16:31: “The gray-haired head is a crown of glory; it is to be found in the way of righteousness.”
- Job 12:12: “Is not wisdom found among the ages? Does not long life bring understanding?”
- Proverbs 20:29: “The glory of young men is their strength, but the honor of old men is their gray hair.”
God’s Continued Presence and Strength:
- Isaiah 46:4: “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.”
- Deuteronomy 33:25: “As your days, so shall your strength be.”
- Psalm 92:14: “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.”
The Aging Process and Legacy:
- 2 Corinthians 4:16: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”
- Psalm 71:18: “Now also when I am old and gray headed, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to everyone that is to come.”
Encouragement and Purpose:
Psalm 92:12, 14: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree… They will still bear fruit in old age… proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright’.”
Isaiah 40:3: “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
I pray that you remember these verses when you get discouraged with your aging. We all need to focus on God’s will in our lives and how we can serve Him and others. That’s much more important!
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