Lesson 3: God Is with You in Your Golden Years
Lesson 3: God Is With You In
Your Golden Years
Today’s
Scripture Focus:
Even when I
am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God,
Psalm 71: 18 NIV
*Before you
begin, ask the Holy Spirit to teach you as you read God’s Word and seek His
meaning.
Throughout the
years I have lived, I would never have known I was aging except that my body
kept reminding me. Inside, my spirit is
an ideal age. I’m guessing it is that
way for all of us who are fifty-plus.
At first, it
was the mirror that insisted on revealing this aging truth. I would catch my reflection as I passed by
the talebearer and would wonder who was that older person staring back at me.
Eventually, in a fit of denial, I learned to quit looking in the mirror. That worked until I turned fifty. Then I began having morning stiffness, along
with creaky joints. There were other
things, but I won’t go into those. The
point is when the body decides to complain, aging has to be reckoned with.
We live in a
youth oriented society. Everywhere I looked the focus was on youthfulness. Questions surfaced in my mind: Were my useful years, my good years,
passed? What did I have to offer my
family and the world as a senior? Was I
doomed to live out my remaining years in a meaningless existence? Journeying to God’s Word, I found my
answers. Indeed, the Scriptures reveal
that God is with us in this very special time of life.
Think On These Things
God’s promises
to seniors:
“Listen to
me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel
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.” Psalm 92:12-15 NIV
Purposes and
actions for older men and women:
Teach the
older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in
faith, in love and in endurance.
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not
to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love
their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at
home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will
malign the
word of God. Similarly, encourage the
young men to be self-controlled.
Titus
2:2-6 NIV
I have heard
it said that the only thing we can be certain of is change itself. Life is constantly changing and it does
appear that we can divide our lifespan into meaningful seasons. We need to remember—
“For I know
the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to
harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
God has given
us many biblical examples of seniors who found that the best was yet to come.
(Scripture
Reference: Luke 2:21-38)
The Scriptures
tell of two seniors whom God saved the best for the last season of their
lives. One was a devout and righteous
man called Simeon, whom the Holy Spirit said would not die until he had seen
the Christ, and the other was Anna, a prophetess, who was very old.
Anna had been
widowed after a brief marriage of seven years.
She remained a widow for eighty-four years. Some quick mathematics reveals to us that
Anna must have been over 105 when Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to
the temple. Simeon’s age is not
revealed, but we get the feeling that he too was very old. God was with these two and gave them a
privileged blessing.
(Scripture
Reference: Joshua 14:6-15)
This passage
tells us that Caleb, one of the men that Moses sent to explore the Promise Land Hebron as
his inheritance. Not only was he
eight-five years of age, but also verse eleven says he was still as strong as
when Moses sent him out.
(Scripture
Reference: Genesis 17: 15 -17, 21: 1-5)
Abraham &
Sarah became the parents at their senior years.
While that may not be the desire of most of us, many grandparents do
find themselves in a similar role as they parent their grandchildren. God is gracious, and if that is His sovereign
will, He will enable you.
The Scriptures
are filled with men and women whom God blessed in their final season of
life. God respects seniors and often
saves the best for last. Time after
time, we see Him rewarding their wisdom, and the discipline they have attained,
with His blessings.
What Did I Learn?
What does God
promise to do for us in our senior years?
What does He
promise that we will do when we reach our senior years, if we are in Him?
How does God
want older men to act in their senior years?
How are senior
women to live?
What do senior
men and women need to teach the younger generation?
What blessings
did Simeon and Anna receive at the end of their lives?
What was the
blessing received by Caleb?
What blessing
was saved until old age for Sarah and Abraham to receive?
Based on the
biblical examples given of seniors citizens who experienced God’s best in their
latter years, what hope does that give to you as a senior and a grandparent?
Fill in the
blanks of the following verse with your name and claim God’s promise for your
golden years.
For I know
the plans I have for ___________,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper
_______________and not to harm him/her, plans to give ______________a hopes and
a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
I Will Apply What I Have Learned
STEP 1: I will not believe the lies of Satan when he
tells me my life is over and my usefulness is past.
STEP 2: I will ask God to reveal His purpose and
truth to me for my senior years.
STEP 3: I will look for ways that I can serve my
family, church, community and fellowman.
STEP 4: I will not focus on the fact that I am near
the end of my life, but instead I will focus on the fact that I still have
life.
Dear God,
I
praise You for these senior years, and I know that You have a purpose in these
years. Please guide me by Your Word,
Your Spirit and the circumstances of my life.
Please show me how You want me to serve others and pour out Your
blessings upon me. I claim Your promises
for my senior years, and like the blessed saints of old, I know You have
something wonderful in mind for me, too.
Lord, help me this day to begin to live each day of my life in expectation. In Jesus Name, Amen
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