Does Life Get Better As You Age? — Morning Devotions - Hope 103.2

Does Life Get Better As You Age? — Morning Devotions

“The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord;"

By Chris WittsSunday 18 Feb 2024Morning Devotions with Chris WittsDevotionsReading Time: 1 minute

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Transcript:

I came across an interesting fact recently, there is a letter that’s been discovered, a letter written by the famous Nobel peace winner Albert Einstein. He’d written a letter to his son, Edward, in 1936 sharing how old he felt. Now he really wasn’t that old. He was 57 which I guess is not really old in today’s terms. He was sitting at his study at Princeton University, and he said, I’m running out of steam.

“Another physicist from Zurich probably sees me as some sort of fossil,” he said. Now this letter that’s only just been discovered was auctioned off for £7000. But Albert Einstein, he didn’t die. At 57 he died at 76 in 1955. But on that day in 1936 he was feeling quite old, and it prompted me to ask the question. Does life get better as you get older?

One woman, who was struggling with the reality of her age, asked a friend, I don’t think I look 40 do I? And the friend answered, “No, but you used to..”

George Burns, the comedian, said – “By the time you’re 80 you know everything. The problem is you just can’t remember it.”

Here’s the fact: all of us are getting older. Every day we age. Now there are heaps of articles to read about the art of ageing. Well, one author says, to know how to grow old is the master work of wisdom and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living. I think, well, I would agree with that. Many of us struggle with getting older, But if you want to compliment someone, say you don’t look to be getting older at all, that would certainly make anyone’s day, wouldn’t it?

Some enjoy joking about ageing. But deep down, growing old is something many of us fear and even dread. We’re willing to avoid it.

Doctor Martin Gumbert wrote a book back in the fifties. I guess which is a bit old now. It was called “You are younger than you think.” And he said that idleness is the greatest enemy of the aged and presents them with their ticket to death. That’s what he said, idleness, a bit of a confronting thought. I think it’s a warning that we need to keep active as we age. But some of the greatest achievements in the world were accomplished by older people. Michelangelo was writing poetry and designing buildings right up to the time of his death when he was 89.

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Thomas Edison. He was busy seeking out new inventions when he died at 85.

Not everyone grows old

I don’t know what age you are, but remember this. Everyone who lives long enough becomes old, but not everyone grows old. That means that you still can think like a younger person, whatever age you are.

The many supports open to us when we were younger and are no longer there. Our bodies, well, they don’t have the strength or the sustaining power that they once had, but worse than that. You know, the older we are, the more likely we are to have fewer friends, especially lifetime friends, because the longer we live, the more of them die, especially close friends or family. We miss them. They’re not there to support us.

Each stage of life has its own set of troubles. The troubles that seniors experience as they see themselves getting older include loneliness, sickness, failing eyesight and hearing, feeling vulnerable. We can’t do what we once could. God’s word. The Bible’s got quite a lot to say, and I like the story of Caleb. When he was 40 he was one of the 12 spies that Moses sent out to the Promised Land. But only Caleb and one other returned to say “All would be OK to go on.”

So we fast forward to his 85th year, the Bible says. And he said, I completely trusted the Lord God. I’m just as strong today as I was then, and I can still fight as well in the battle. That’s Joshua 14:11. It’s an amazing story actually worth reading in Joshua. So Caleb didn’t lose his zest or his enthusiasm for life. And back in those days, if you were 80 plus, you were certainly living on borrowed time.

Isaiah 40:30-31 says that even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Regardless of your age, committing yourself to follow God and accepting Jesus into your life will keep you on the track. You can’t help but get older. But if you resent old age, I wonder if you could remember what Coryton boom once said.

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still, she said. And you trust the engineer.

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, thank you that age does not need to be a barrier as we get old. Lord, help us to learn new things and also Lord to trust you in all things, even as we get older. Amen.