Growing old with God

This article is based on Psalm 71. To open your hearts fully to God, I would encourage you to read the whole psalm first.

There are many worrying aspects of growing old: an aging body; declining strength, illness, loneliness, death, and many others.

Psalm 71 was written by an old man (David?). But he was a joyful old man. He was joyful because he was able to maintain his focus on God.

The key lesson I got of this meditation is: to grow old with God, walk with Him now. This is because:

- If you are not a man of faith now, you will not be a man of faith when you’re old.

- If you’re a negative, grumpy person now, you’d not be a positive, cheerful person when old.

- If you are not walking with God now, you won’t when you are old.

The old psalmist shows us three principles of his walk with God.

1. He has a deep knowledge of God. In v17, he says God is his teacher and he knows God from his youth. He calls God his rock of refuge and fortress (v3). And he says that God is his hope and trust (v5).

2. He has the godly habits of trust, praise, and hope.

These habits grew out of the psalmist knowledge of God. They are the habits of trust (v3); praise (v6); and hope (v14). Develop these habits when you are young; they will take you further as you grow older.

The psalmist was in good stead in his old age because he had developed a deep knowledge of God. He had developed the godly habits of trust, praise, and hope.

3. He maintains a lifestyle of ministry for God.

When we grow old we are tempted to retire from everything and say, “I deserve some rest.”

The old psalmist was still concerned for ministry. He testifies to others of God’s faithfulness and power (v8, v15-18, v24).

To grow old with God we need to walk with Him - a walk that involves a deep personal knowledge, a walk that includes the habits of trust, praise, and hope, and a walk that involves a lifestyle of ministry for God.

Then, as long as we have life and breath, we can show and tell and sing of the greatness of our God to the next generation.

Rev. Robert Chew