Still recovering.
From Edified:
“For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’”
Isaiah 30:15
God, I think, is like a Haiku. Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry: 17 syllables in four lines usually involving an unexpected twist at the end. For instance:
Spring has come
The snow melts
The village is flooded
With children.
We expected damage from water and end up with happy kids! So it is with God; except that instead of twisting, He untwists things. For instance, to make a Haiku out of my experience,
Unjustly jailed
Put on trial
Prosecutor stood firm
To defend me!
God is the great Transformer, the great Surpriser. He can and does take the most painful and difficult happenings and tenderly turns them into our good and His glory. Think of the death of Lazarus; of the blindness of men Christ healed; and of His own suffering.
Old age is an example of God’s transforming powers. Aging is the process of losing things, going from competent, self-sufficient, productive people to helpless, dependent, and in the eyes of some, useless people. However, those who walk with God may be helpless physically or mentally but can still be mighty warriors in prayer and example.
I recently visited a 98-year-old friend. He can no longer walk, but is clear-minded. When I asked him how he is doing he replied, “I have so much to be thankful for! I just can’t understand why God is so good to me. I’m such a sinner; I certainly don’t deserve it!”
It is clear that, as he has aged, he has grown in his understanding of his depravity, as well as of how much God has forgiven and loves him, and how much God is blessing him.
Old age may be the process of losing things, but maturity is the willingness to let them go. In knowing God we can have the bigger, longer range picture of what He is doing, as well as what He has in store for us in the new heaven and earth. So we can know that it’s ok to let go of what we cannot keep anyway.
“Lord help me to know you better in the light so that when I walk in the dark, I will trust you fully and give you glory whether I see any answers or not. Help me to live in the truth that you are good, all the time. Amen.”
