I went to visit my grandparents a few days ago for a week and change. It had been years since I had seen them, and while it was wonderful to catch up, I was daily struck by just how old they were. Not just old, either, but frail. Tired. Worn out. They shuffled through the house, and were constantly hacking, and often even had to take oxygen. It was very hard to watch.
And then I realized: someday that will be me. Someday my body - all of our bodies - will break down and fall apart and die. And my main thought when I think of that is this: what kind of life will I have led when my hair is gray and my body frail? Will I look back at my life and be satisfied, knowing that I have led a life with God at my center, a life that He will be proud of? Or will I be filled with regret, knowing that there was so much more I could have done?
There's a beautiful passage in Isaiah that talks about getting old. God is speaking to the descendants of Jacob, talking about how He has been with them for their entire lives, and takes care of and sustains them in everything they do. What a testimony that must be! To have lived your whole life dependent on God, trusting in Him for everything, and to come to the end of it and be able to breathe with a sigh of relief, that you have lived well.
That's the kind of testimony I want. When my body wears out and fails me, I will be able to say with joy that my God has never failed me. That's something that no person, or event, or even time itself can ever take away from me.
Isaiah 46:3-4
And then I realized: someday that will be me. Someday my body - all of our bodies - will break down and fall apart and die. And my main thought when I think of that is this: what kind of life will I have led when my hair is gray and my body frail? Will I look back at my life and be satisfied, knowing that I have led a life with God at my center, a life that He will be proud of? Or will I be filled with regret, knowing that there was so much more I could have done?
There's a beautiful passage in Isaiah that talks about getting old. God is speaking to the descendants of Jacob, talking about how He has been with them for their entire lives, and takes care of and sustains them in everything they do. What a testimony that must be! To have lived your whole life dependent on God, trusting in Him for everything, and to come to the end of it and be able to breathe with a sigh of relief, that you have lived well.
That's the kind of testimony I want. When my body wears out and fails me, I will be able to say with joy that my God has never failed me. That's something that no person, or event, or even time itself can ever take away from me.
Isaiah 46:3-4
3 “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born.
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.
you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born.
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.
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