Growing older with grace (1) 

“If you respect the Lord, you will live longer.” Proverbs 10:27 CEV

Does the thought of aging make you anxious? If so, it’s time to re-examine your value system. With God, the contents are more important than the package. And in order to make peace with your wrinkles, you must come into agreement with Him. Ultimately, it’s not the number of days in your life that count but the quality of life in your days. Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine. Note what the host of the wedding reception said: “Everyone brings out the choice wine first…but you have saved the best till now” (John 2:10 NIV). And that can be the story of your life too. You don’t have to suffer from gerascophobia, the fear of aging. Keep fighting, keep growing, keep moving forward. Listen to the words of Caleb: “For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God…Moses solemnly promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever’…Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise – even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me…So Joshua blessed Caleb…and gave Hebron to him as his portion of land” (Joshua 14:8-13 NLT). That’s called “growing older with grace.”

The Word for You Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from Celebration Enterprises, Inc. Copyright © 2024