From the moment we are born, our bodies begin to age. But throughout childhood, adolescence, the teenage years, and young adult decades — we don’t feel old. Then one day, folks are celebrating our 50th, 60th, 70th birthdays and beyond. If we are fortunate enough to live into our 80s, we will likely suffer from achy joints and a number of so-called geriatric illnesses.
We feel fragile and indeed, our bones may be brittle. We lose confidence in tasks that seemed easy just a few years ago. We wonder how fast life passed and wish we had made different choices to make the ‘golden’ years easier. Whoever named them ‘golden’ was mistaken.
It is easy to feel the aches and pains and listen to dire diagnoses of the aging process. But every day is a gift. Every extra year with family and friends is a treasured time.
Although we may wonder what our significance is all about now, the fact that we still breathe is proof that we still have a purpose. Maybe we are lucky enough to continue working or we volunteer at a variety of charities. And we can always spend extra time in prayer for those we love. All these activities offer significance.
Wisdom reminds us to stay in gratitude and keep trusting God. My prayer these days often sounds like, “God, you saved me young. Now sustain me old. Thank you.”
It is helpful to remember that Moses was 80 when God called him back to Egypt to rescue the Israelites. The apostles aged within their missions until they became martyrs. And many of the older folks in our churches serve as deacons and elders. So aging has its own special tasks.
God still delights in us. He still rejoices over us with singing. How do we know this? Because Isaiah, one of the greatest of the prophets, wrote a comforting verse: “Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he [God]. 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).
God acknowledges that his people will age and sprout gray hair. But he promises to sustain us throughout the process of aging, carrying us like a loving Papa — close to his heart.
I sometimes grumble that Jesus did not age, so how can he know how I feel at doctor appointments, taking my meds, and hoping I don’t lose my brain capacity? Yet Jesus was part of the Trinitarian creation team. He knows how we are made. He understands pain, because he lived on the earth in the first century, suffered as a human being, and certainly felt the intensity of those horrific six hours of crucifixion.
He asks us only to trust him. To not fear. To remember that each day, he offers new mercies. (Lamentations 3:22-23). He comforts us with the fact that he will someday hold us close and carry us home.
Our part is to believe in God’s care and trust him for each breath until our final gasp. To receive each day as an opportunity with divine assignments, and to take seriously his command to love others. To present ourselves as a living sacrifice as we grow closer to him. To keep praising God for his power to sustain us. To encourage each other like Naomi’s friends who reminded her, “The Lord will renew your life and sustain you in your old age.” (Ruth 4:15 NIV).
©2026 RJ Thesman – All Rights Reserved
Image Attribution: sabinevanerp / Pixabay
To read more about God’s sustaining love as we age, check out Sustain Us, Oh Lord: Finding Strength When Life is Hard.