Four Promises We Can Hang Onto
Key Verse to Read and Treasure
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. (Isaiah 46:4, NIV)
In this passage God gives four reliable promises to frail, even sinful humanity. Twice He promises to sustain us, promises to carry, and rescue us. We need and will enjoy the fulfillment of all these promises throughout life. The one that is especially meaningful to me at this time of life is His promise to be with me even into old age, when my hair is gray.
For those who are aging, that promise of God’s sustenance in old age is very important because getting older requires a kind of dependence on God that is not needed in youth. Older people are often faced with diminishing returns and often view life going forward from the perspective of what will be lacking in older years: finances, family member or friends who are still alive, mobility, independence, etc.
As we age, we find the need to trust God more than ever. Women have their special aging challenges and men find they do also. Both male and female discover they are growing weaker, a little slower in movement, not as mentally sharp as they once were, not retaining as many vitamins or extracting as many nutrients from food than when we are younger, the skin starts to lose its elasticity, and things start to ache that never ached before. So many changes and challenges to trust God more and more.
What we don’t know when we are younger is that we still need God in those same ways. We may be aware of our strength, enjoying independence and having a sharp mind, yet our need of God is not any less than in our old age. It is His strength that upholds and enables us to do the things we do, even while we are young.
When we are old, we may have a greater awareness of our dependence on God, but when we are young we only think we are flying solo. We are a lot like the young child learning to ride their bike without training wheels. They feel independent; like they are pedaling on their own, gliding down the street unassisted by those clunky training wheels. What they don’t recognize is the parent is still back there, steadying the bicycle with one hand gently on the back in the event it tilts too far in one direction while the child is peddling so carefree.
God doesn’t want us to wait until old age to be aware of our dependence on him. He doesn’t want us to wait until our hair is gray or falling out, or wait until we can’t get around as well, to realize how attentive He is. He is that parent in the back as we roll down the streets of life, with His hand gently guiding, steadying us so we don’t fall or lose our balance.
Young or old our God’s promises cover us. The same promises that uphold us when we are old are the same ones that accompanied us when we were young.
Praying Isaiah 46:4
Ever present, Almighty God, each season of life can be a season where we are aware of Your steadying, sustaining hand. In our youth we feel independent enough and love toughing out this life on our own, yet You do not reserve Your goodness until we are old and graying but it is always with us from the cradle to the grave. Thank you for Your promises to sustain, carry, and rescue us every year of our life. Amen
Prayer Challenge
Where are you at in life: young, in the middle, or older? Can you see how God has carried, sustained, and rescued you throughout? How do you want to challenge yourself in prayer today?
Digging Deeper
Devotionally Yours 