Old and Gray

It seems to me that if our acceptance is found in the finished work of Christ, we should never have a reason to feel unworthy or unloved. I've been struggling with insecurity here in this new phase of life known as retirement. My desire is to be so secure in my identity in Christ that I'm not emotionally vulnerable when my circumstances change: Confident in the fact that God and the truth of His Word never change. Psalm 102:27 proclaims, "You are always the same; You will live forever."

In the process of writing this blog, I was overcome with emotion when I read Isaiah 46:4: "Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; and I will bear you and I will deliver you." Imagine starting to write a blog about the perplexity of retirement and inadvertently finding a verse about God's faithfulness in our old age. Thanks to Ruth Chou Simons for including this verse in her blog today...so timely for me. (And obviously for Ruth as well, although she's much younger than me! gracelaced.com)

Change often brings uncertainty and in my case, insecurity. I long for the truth of my security in God's acceptance of me to permeate my heart and mind. Psalm 119 is all about God's Word and the change it brings about in the lives of those who follow its precepts. "Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You...I have inherited Your testimonies forever, for they are the joy of my heart." (Psalm 119:11 and 111) If God's testimonies are "the joy of my heart," then it stands to reason that if I "treasure His Word in my heart," I will experience true joy. Not a fleeting good feeling that fluctuates when my circumstances change, but a true sense of peace no matter what I'm going through.

It sounds so simple, but it's been one of my greatest challenges in life: To fully rely on what I know to be true according to God's Word, in spite of life's ever fluctuating state of affairs. When I'm dwelling on the uncertainty of what lies ahead, I lose sight of the fact that God's promises never change. Never. Even now that I'm old and gray. (Yes, "even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you"!)