Isaiah 46:4 Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, 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.

These days, this should be called the “Boomer Blessing!” People have been aging ever since the Garden of Eden, or at least since Adam and Eve were thrown out of the garden. Our cells forget how to replicate and renew themselves, and as a result our bodies wear out. Those who are in Christ have perfect, resurrection bodies to look forward to, but until then, we have this and other promises for those who have reason to be sharply aware of the passing of time. The first thing God is reminding us of here is that even though our bodies are changing, and not necessarily for the better, He doesn’t change. In other words, the paintings of God as a greybeard are totally off the mark! The second thing He points out to us is that He carries us. (The NIV says “sustain” the first and third times it comes up.) The “Footprints in the Sand” poem is true, even though it has been used so much as to become trite. We are comfortable with the thought of babies being carried, but senior adults sometimes face the need to be carried again. That can be pretty traumatic, but it makes a big difference to remember that God has been carrying us all along! We get ourselves into all sorts of fixes, but the last thing God says here is that He will rescue us. That should be an enormous comfort whatever age we are!

As I am comfortably past 64, older than my father lived on this earth, I am increasingly aware of the depth and grace of this promise. I wear bifocal glasses and have a few other reminders of the calendar. However, in general I am in excellent health, and anticipate 20 or more further years of service. At the same time, I am around a lot of people of greater age, or who aren’t as blessed with good health, and I can imagine myself in their shoes. That shouldn’t be alarming for me, precisely because I have such promises as this verse. I am increasingly aware that what is visible is temporary, whether it seems good or bad at the moment, so it becomes easier to focus on the eternal. I am to be fully present in the here-and-now, fully available to God for however He wants to use me, but keep my focus and my values in the eternal, so that I won’t be shaken by the temporal, but rest, relax, and rejoice in my eternal Lord.

Father, thank You for this reminder. May I be an encouragement to all I encounter to fix their eyes on You as well, whether they think of themselves as young or old, so that as many as will may repent and believe, to receive Your eternal life and start walking in it right now, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!