Overview
This teaching examines “Aging Gracefully” through Isaiah 46, Psalm 139, Psalm 91, Isaiah 40, showing how because, father, love shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Transcript
Understanding Aging Gracefully
I have had a few monumental birthdays in my lifetime for which I am greatly thankful for. My first monumental birthday was when I turned 18. This was a big deal because at 18, I could vote in a national election.
That was pretty awesome. At that time, I lived in New York and in New York at age 18, I could go to a bar and legally order a drink. Now that was amazing.
For me, turning 18 was clearly a rite of passage into adulthood. My next monumental birthday was when I turned 40. Now this one was different.
I must admit, I was somewhat in shock. For me, turning 40 was the stark realization that I was no longer a kid anymore. Oh my God, I had been married for 16 years.
I was the mother of a nine-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son and my youth was behind me. I was officially middle-aged. 50 and 60 came and went with joy and no trauma.
I couldn’t wait until I turned 65 because then I could go on Medicare. That was monumental. And then came September 1st, 2022, when I turned 70 years old.
This was a monumental birthday because I made it. I’m 70 and I’m thankful because I know that without the love of my family, friends, and especially the love I received 24-7 from my Heavenly Father, my life would not be as full and special as it is today. God promises to take care of us throughout our lives and into our later years.
It is our relationship with him that allows us to age gracefully. Age is just a number. Getting old is a mindset.
To age gracefully, having a youthful mindset is important, but having a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father is paramount. One aspect of aging gracefully is being able to recognize and accept that there are some things that we could do in our youth that we can’t do as well now, and in some cases, not at all anymore. As we get older, our bodies change, and being able and willing to adapt to those changes are important.
The Biblical Foundation
I was a runner. With much encouragement from my husband, I started running when I was 24. When I first started running, I couldn’t run a quarter mile, but with much determination over the course of time, I was able to run a half marathon.
I loved to run. For me, it was fulfilling physically and mentally. Physically, it gave me vitality, and mentally, I felt exhilarated, happy, and ready for just about anything.
However, after I turned 60, I had some physical issues develop that required a change in my exercise. I was not very happy about this at first, but I chose to adapt to my situation and change. Over the years, I went from running to cycling to walking, and currently to water fitness, which I love now as much as I loved running then.
God will always give us our heart’s desire and will always meet our need. While preparing this teaching, I came across seven holistic tips to age gracefully. They are, number one, live in the moment.
The moment is now. Live in the now, moment by moment. The past is exactly where it is, past.
Anything that happened then is gone, over with, finished. We thank God for the blessing of being able to move on from whatever happened yesterday, good, bad, or indifferent. The future is tomorrow.
We can have a plan for tomorrow, but we don’t live there. A plan is good, but be flexible. If a plan needs to change, then change.
Number two, forgive yourself and others. We all know that this is a huge one. Forgiving yourself is your first step to being able to forgive others.
Knowing how to forgive yourself is something the Father had to show me. I would beat myself up from in the inside if I did something or said something wrong. He showed me how to lighten up, girl.
Examples and Spiritual Lessons
We express our sorrow for messing up and ask him to forgive us, which he freely does. He forgives. We forgive ourselves and we move on.
When or if that thought creeps in again, you must cast it out because he has already cast our sin as far as the east is from the west. Once we know how to forgive ourselves, we are able to extend that to others. This just doesn’t happen with a wave from a magic wand.
It happens in your heart. In your heart when you open it to the Father and his voice is there for you to respond to by moving on. Number three is be thankful.
Yes, and everything gives thanks. The other day, our son said to me, Mom, you don’t really spend a lot of time with your granddaughter. It would be nice if you could do that.
I was so thankful he said that to me because I clearly hadn’t thought that I didn’t. They’re busy. We’re busy.
We do see each other on weekends sometimes, but it blessed me that he told me that because he wanted his daughter to have more one-on-one time with me. We’re figuring out how to do this. Number four, be prayerful.
Always, always, always, all day long. He hears us. He listens to us, and he answers us when we go to him in prayer.
What a blessing to have such a wonderful Heavenly Father. Number five, find humor. Be able to laugh at yourself.
Take joy seriously and yourself lightly. As you are growing older, if you are like me, there will be times when you forget things. There are times I walk into a room, I’ll look at my husband and say, I can’t remember what I came in here for.
Faith in Action
Almost always, we just laugh, knowing that I will eventually remember. Number six is be flexible in mind and body. Stay mentally and physically active.
Read a book, walk with a friend, or join a gym or the Y. Being a former runner, I had always poo-pooed group fitness. Boy, was I wrong. At the Y, I’ve made new friends, met amazing people, and I get a great workout.
Last but not least, number seven, stay curious. Be open to learning new things. As an example, a friend and I have been taking painting lessons for over the past several months.
It has been and continues to be a great learning experience. I think I can honestly say that for the both of us. It has been challenging and enlightening.
I have learned a new approach on how to paint a landscape. That has been our mission. It has broadened my understanding of how to approach a subject to paint.
I think I can also speak for my friend by saying it has been and continues to be a great experience. And I repeat, God promises to take care of us throughout our lives and into our later years. It is our relationship with him that allows us to age gracefully.
Age is just a number. Getting old is a mindset. To age gracefully, having a youthful mindset is important, but having a personal relationship with our heavenly father is paramount.
Please turn to Isaiah 46. There are so many verses in the Bible on God’s heart for us as we age, so I’d like to share a few of them with you. Isaiah 46.4, and I’ll be reading this from the Amplified.
Even to your old age, I am he. And even to hair white with age, will I carry you? I have made and I will bear. Yes, I will carry and will save you.
Even with our white hair and as we age, he will carry us. How beautiful and loving. He is always there.
Walking in Love and Confidence
If we stumble, he will carry us. We have nothing to fear. Please go to Ephesians chapter one, and I’ll be reading this in the following verses in the ESV.
Ephesians chapter one, verse three says, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. God chose us. He handpicked us before the foundation of the world, so we would be holy and without blame before him in love.
He knew we would be his before we were even thought of. Go to Psalm 139, and in verse 13, it says, for you formed my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. You saw my unformed substance. In your book were written every one of them.
The days were formed for me when as yet there were none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God. How vast is the sum of them.
He knew us from before the foundation of the world. His compassion is great for us because he knows our frame. He knows us inside and out.
He knows every fiber of our being. He knows our strengths. He knows our weaknesses.
Even in our old age, he will carry us and save us. Wonderful are his works, and wonderful is his great love for us, which is beyond beyond. Last week, I was talking to a friend about a visit she had with her family.
Applying the Teaching in Daily Life
He said to me, I’m so thankful. God just loves me so much. He does.
He does love us, and the love that he has for us is what I recognize and we can recognize as we grow in him and continue to celebrate birthdays. Please turn to Psalm 91. Psalm 91 and verse 14.
Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him.
I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and honor him. With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.
These words are just so amazing, so tender, and so beautiful. We have nothing to fear or worry about as we continue to grow in life and age gracefully because he has got us. Go to Isaiah chapter 40 and in verse 31, it says, but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.
Wait means to hope for, to anticipate. When we wait for the Lord, our strength is renewed. Our strength is fortified, fortified so we can run and not be weary.
He’s our second wind to get us through whatever we are facing. No matter what the situation, we’re confident that he will always be there for us. Even in our later years, he will strengthen and sustain us as we look to him.
Another aspect of aging gracefully is the wisdom we’ve acquired by living a full life. Wisdom is knowledge applied. As we grow in life, we have ups and downs, but it’s those experiences that teach us to be wise or to put it another way, to apply our knowledge.
A Life Shaped by God’s Word
I did some really stupid things when I was young, and I’m thankful I’m here to talk about it. It wasn’t until I started learning about my heavenly father that I began to mature. I was in my early 20s when God said, let’s get going, girl.
Solomon was 20 when his father David died, and God told him that he, Solomon, would be king. Imagine being king of anything at 20, much less having God tell you that you’re the one. Please go to 2 Chronicles chapter 1 and verse 1. Chapter 1 verse 1, it says, Solomon, the son of David, established himself in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.
And then down in verse 7, it says, in that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, ask what I shall give you. And Solomon said to God, you have shown great and steadfast love to David my father and have made me king in his place. O Lord God, let your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.
Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours which is so great? God answered Solomon, because this was in your heart and you have not asked possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked long life, but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king. Wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings who were before you and none after you shall have the like.
So Solomon came from the high place at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting to Jerusalem, and he reigned over Israel. I love the meekness of Solomon. God grants him wisdom and knowledge, but he didn’t stop there.
He also granted him riches, possessions, and honor, unlike none of the kings before, and none of them after him. Because of Solomon’s pure heart, God graciously and lovingly grants what Solomon asked, but doesn’t stop there. He pours the glass to overflowing by giving him riches, possessions, and honor.
That’s our God. That is our Heavenly Father. Proverbs, you can go to Proverbs chapter 19 and verse 20.
It says, listen to advice and accept instruction. Why? So that you may gain wisdom in the future. And last but not least, go to James chapter 1 verse 5. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
All we need to do is ask. Through the knowledge we obtain from life and our understanding of God’s heart for us, he will give them the wisdom we need to proceed and succeed in life. God gives generously without reproach to those whose hearts are pure, and he has provided us with all good things, so as we age, we can do it gracefully.
Key Takeaways
- We have nothing to fear or worry about as we continue to grow in life and age gracefully because he has got us.
- And Solomon said to God, you have shown great and steadfast love to David my father and have made me king in his place.
- To age gracefully, having a youthful mindset is important, but having a personal relationship with our heavenly father is paramount.
- He handpicked us before the foundation of the world, so we would be holy and without blame before him in love.
- Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main message of “Aging Gracefully”?
This teaching examines “Aging Gracefully” through Isaiah 46, Psalm 139, Psalm 91, Isaiah 40, showing how because, father, love shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Which scriptures are central to this teaching?
The teaching draws especially from Isaiah 46, Psalm 139, Psalm 91, Isaiah 40, 2 Chronicles 1.
How can believers apply this teaching?
Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him.
Scripture References
Isaiah 46; Psalm 139; Psalm 91; Isaiah 40; 2 Chronicles 1; Proverbs 19
This text was prepared from the teaching audio or source document. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
