Psalm 71 contains the prayer of a guy who was getting older. He could feel it. He wasn’t quite as strong, fast and agile as he once was (v 9). The Psalm gives us an honest, vulnerable look at some of the fears and insecurities many feel every time the calendar tells us we’re a year older. At least twice in the psalm, the writer mentions getting older.
“My life is an example to many,
because you have been my strength and protection.
8 That is why I can never stop praising you;
I declare your glory all day long.
9 And now, in my old age, don’t set me aside.
Don’t abandon me when my strength is failing.” —Psalm 71:5-9 NLT
“O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood,
and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.
18 Now that I am old and gray,
do not abandon me, O God.
Let me proclaim your power to this new generation,
your mighty miracles to all who come after me.” —Psalm 71:17-18 NLT
One of the problems with getting older in a culture obsessed with staying younger is that you start thinking about your expiration date. Not the day you’ll die, but whether or not you’ve outlived your usefulness. Maybe you’re like a gallon of soured milk or hot dogs that are way past their sell-by date? Do you still have a purpose and can you still make a contribution?
That seems to be what the writer is feeling in Psalm 71. Since people have “put him on the shelf,” he wonders whether or not God will do the same?
Thankfully, he doesn’t allow insecurity about age to overwhelm him. Instead, he makes a decision to wait on God and worship, regardless (vs 5-6, 14-16, 22-25).
I recently experienced another birthday. I’m north of 50 years old. Well, the truth is I’m a whole lot closer to 60 than 50. But, who’s counting, right? After reading this passage, on the morning of my birthday, I wrote down a few thoughts about getting older and refusing to give up, give out or give in.
1. Getting older provides the gift of PERSPECTIVE.
David described it like this in another psalm.
“I was young and now I am OLD, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.” —Psalm 37:25 NIV
I love the way Eugene Peterson translates this passage in The Message.
“I once was young, now I’m a graybeard—not once have I seen an abandoned believer, or his kids out roaming the streets.” —Psalm 37:25 MSG
I can relate to David. The hair on my face is getting less salt and pepper and more and more just salt. But, getting older had given David more than a change in the color of his beard. It had given him the gift of perspective. Because he had witnessed God come through for him in the past, it gave him the ability to live with faith and confidence in the present.
2. Getting older brings the possibility of growing WISER.
Don’t misunderstand. Age alone doesn’t produce wisdom. Contrary to what you’ve heard, experience isn’t the best teacher. Evaluated experience is.
Experience isn’t the best teacher. Evaluated experience is.
Life experiences that you learn and grow from offer something that simply can’t be duplicated in a classroom. Job described it like this in Job 12:12.
“Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.” —Job 12:12 NLT
Don’t just get older. Grow wiser. It’s possible.
3. Getting older offers the opportunity to LOVE more fully.
Have you noticed that as some people get older they become grumpy old men or grouchy old women, while others become more loving, compassionate, gentle and tender? Instead of getting BETTER, as some grow older they become BITTER, hard and mean and vice-versa.
For some reason, years have a way of hardening or softening your heart. Incredibly, we always get to CHOOSE. Always.
Paul described the alternatives in 2 Corinthians 4. It’s a chapter about refusing to give up despite what life brings your way (vs 8-10). In Verse 16, Paul gives us insight into what can give us stamina with the passing of years.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” —2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV
Paul doesn’t sugarcoat the facts. He says, “On the outside it often looks like things are falling apart” (See MSG). Have you ever felt that way? Paul did. Then he added the following…
“…yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”
In other words, “My strength doesn’t come from the outside. It never has. It never will. On the inside — where the real action is — God is constantly giving me new life. Not a day goes by without His grace and Spirit giving me the power I need to live and to love in a way that honors Him.”
With that perspective, getting older becomes an opportunity to…
- learn from your losses,
- grow from your mistakes,
- focus or re-focus on what actually matters, and,
- LOVE like there’s no tomorrow!
An Old Man Who LOVE BIG
The Apostle John was the longest living of all the apostles. In fact, he was probably the only one of the original twelve disciples who died a peaceful death.
Imagine outliving all of your friends and acquaintances. Imagine surviving imprisonment, isolation (Patmos), and several attempts on your life simply for loving Jesus and sharing the Gospel. That’s a boatload of loss and a whole bunch of heartache.
John probably died around A.D. 98. According to Jerome, one of the early church fathers in his commentary on Galatians, John was so frail in his final days as pastor of the church at Ephesus that he had to be carried into the church. But one phrase was constantly on his lips: “My little children, love one another. Love one another. Love one another.”
“Love one another. Love one another. Love one another.”
Someone once asked him, “John, why do you always say this?” According to Jerome, John replied, “It is the Lord’s command, and if this be done, it is enough.”
At some point, John made a strategic decision. Old age and the pain and loss it brings will not make me bitter. Instead, I’ll get better. “Like Paul, inwardly I will choose to be renewed day by day…”
4. Finally, getting older means my FAITH has a chance to keep GROWING.
There’s an amazing passage in Psalm 92 that has become more and more important to me with every passing birthday.
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” —Psalm 92:12-15 NIV
So much is jammed into these four verses it would be impossible to unpack in this post. I’ll close by sharing a few insights from the palm tree mentioned in these verses.
A Few Thoughts for Those Who Feel “Past Their Prime”
- A palm tree grows SLOW, STEADY and STRONG.
The “palm tree” referred to in verse 12 is the date palm. It’s a very slow growing tree. It doesn’t bear fruit immediately. In fact, it takes it five to eight years before it begins to bear fruit.
What’s it doing during those first few years? Evidently, it’s growing the root system that will support it throughout its long life. [1]
Dr. Henry Morris says that it has extremely deep tap roots — called a root ball — that radiate from the tree in all directions.[2]
Its dense root system makes it resilient despite the weather, allows it to flourish even in a desert or drought, and provides stability during storms. Palm trees are known to be able to bend about 40 to 50 degrees without snapping and can even withstand hurricane force winds. Why? Because they grow slow, steady and strong.
Getting older means you have the opportunity to keep putting down roots and growing slow, steady and strong until God calls you home!
“I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.”
—Isaiah 46:4 NLT
- A palm tree grows UPWARD.
The date palm in Psalm 92 gets really tall and also stays very slender. [3] Hey, we can all dream!
One Bible Dictionary says that this palm can grow to a height of 40, 50 and sometimes even 80 feet. [4] It’s like it wants to get as close to heaven — as close to GOD — as it can possibly get, while simultaneously distancing itself as much as possible from the grit and grind of earth.
Getting older means we have a chance every day to keep growing closer to God. Every day we can choose to “set our minds on things above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2).
Tim Keller, in his little book, The Songs of Jesus, tells the story of 19th century Anglican preacher, Charles Simeon who retired after 54 years of ministry. Someone noticed that Simeon was still getting up to pray and study God’s Word at 4 am every day. They suggested that he needed to take it easy. Simeon replied, “Shall I not now run with all my might when the winning post is in sight.” [5]
That’s a guy who didn’t just get older, he made it his mission to constantly grow closer and closer to God. Like the palm tree, he grew upward.
- The palm tree FLOURISHES in the face of adversity.
This tree doesn’t simply survive in the desert, it thrives. In fact, there are entire forests filled with this kind of palm in the middle of a dry, arid desert.
- The palm tree is always GREEN.
In horticulture, it’s called a perennial. This means it keeps growing for several years, experiences new growth, and survives from one growing season into another growing season. Even its lush green color doesn’t fade.
This is a picture of the kind of strength, grace, dignity and growth believers can experience even after we qualify for the senior discount at McDonalds. We can be “evergreen”.
We don’t just have to surrender to getting older.
We can keep getting better! We can keep growing — spiritually, relationally, mentally and emotionally, We can keep making progress. Daily. Weekly. Monthly. Annually.
The goal we reach today can be the starting point for tomorrow.
The victory we experience this week can be the catalyst for next week!
The progress we make this month can be fuel for next month!
The growth gained this year can influence our game plan for next year!
You may be getting older, but you never have to stop growing!
Never forget:
- Moses didn’t really start his career until he was 80!
- Joshua was probably somewhere between 68-78 when he began to lead Israel.
- Caleb was 85 when he claimed his promised-land mountain!
- Simeon and Anna were close to claiming their centennial birthday badges when they personally welcomed and worshipped Jesus in the temple!
Charles Arn was right when he wrote:
“Old age begins in the head… How old you are isn’t nearly as important as how old you feel…and act…and think you are…” —Charles Arn
Hall of Fame baseball player, Satchel Paige, said it even more memorably when he asked:
“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?” —Satchel Paige
Today, you can make a decision to be “evergreen”.
- The palm tree is very FRUITFUL.
As we’ve mentioned, it takes about five to eight years before a palm tree bears fruit. It produces about 22 pounds of dates in its first crop. But after that, it rapidly increases when it comes to the amount of fruit it bears. On an average it will from 300 to 400 pounds’ weight in dates annually. Some date palms have even been known to produce 600 pounds’ weight in dates in a single year.[6] That’s fruitfulness!
What’s really cool is that even though its productivity declines after 60 years, date palms can keep producing fruit into their 80’s! This is God’s promise to every person north of 50.
“They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green…” —Psalm 92:14
The Complete Jewish Bible translate this verse: “Even in old age they will be vigorous, still full of sap, still bearing fruit.”
That’s you and me!
Maybe you’re asking, but what does “fruitfulness” involved?
- It involves our ATTITUDE and CHARACTER.
It’s the possibility of continuing to cultivate and produce the fruit of the Spirit, which is “divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, goodness or moral virtue and beauty, faithfulness and loyalty, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 Adapted from Passion Translation).
- It involves good ACTIONS and WORKS. Jesus said, “…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
- It involves our IMPACT and LEGACY.
I love the prayer of the writer in Verse 18 of Psalm 71.
“Now that I am old and gray,
do not abandon me, O God.
Let me proclaim your power to this new generation,
your mighty miracles to all who come after me.” —Psalm 71:17-18 NLT
In his excellent book, Didn’t See It Coming, author and podcaster Carey Nieuwhof writes:
“The best years for leaders who are able to communicate with the culture often seem to happen somewhere between age forty-five and seventy-five… …if you pay attention…these can be not only your peak earning years but also your peak contributing years… Growing older does not necessarily mean growing irrelevant…” —Carey Nieuwhof [7]
Carey goes on to indicate that the senior years of people marked by awareness and wisdom can be our best year yet!
Getting older never means giving up!
[1] https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/blog/whats-the-meaning-of-the-righteous-shall-flourish-like-a-palm-tree/
[2] https://www.icr.org/article/believers-palm-trees
[3] William Jones, “Psalm 88–109,” in Psalms 88–150, vol. 2, The Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary (London; Toronto; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1892), 68.
[4] M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893), 520.
[5] Tim Keller, The Songs of Jesus, p 161.
[6] William Jones, “Psalm 88–109,” in Psalms 88–150, vol. 2, The Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary (London; Toronto; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1892), 69.
[7] Nieuwhof, Carey. Didn’t See It Coming: Overcoming the Seven Greatest Challenges That No One Expects and Everyone Experiences (p. 109). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.