Cody's Corner: The Golden Years

I am not as young as I once was, and I am starting to notice that things do not quite work as well as they used to.

My knees will hurt after a run or even just a steady jog. My neck or back can hurt for the good part of a day after just sleeping on them incorrectly. My teenage son is the one my wife goes to for help at times – because “Dad might get hurt doing that.”

When I think about the future, I wonder if the “golden years” are truly golden. The one thing that bothers me the most is my memory. I will go into a room to do something and forget why I went in there in the first place. I will call my wife to tell her something and be dumbfounded when I cannot recollect what I wanted to tell her. It is a most annoying and embarrassing trait of growing older that I am told will only get worse with time.

An important aspect of our faith as Christians is remembering. In the Old Testament, men, women, and the Israelite nation at times freely made memorials to God for remembrance. At other times, God commanded them to build something or tell the future generations about an important event so that it would never be forgotten.

I believe we all need a reminder not to forget what God has done, who God is, and what the future holds – according to the Bible – to navigate what this life holds for each and every one of us.

Many times, we make the mistake of highlighting the wrongs done to us. We highlight the evils in the world, the fears, the anxieties, and the great unknown, which results in extensive damage being done to us as Christians.

Our faith will falter; our inspiration and motivation to live out what we believe will be doused with cold water; our thoughts and feelings will be overwhelmed to the point at which we forget who God is; and we will stop running the races we were called to run.

A teacher at seminary once said, “We have a problem that needs to be switched. We gaze at our problems while only glancing at God. We should fix our gaze upon God, and only give a glance to our problems.” This was true in that day, and rings true even more loudly today.

When and if I remember to fix my gaze on God, so many things come flooding in. What stands out most clearly are: how faithful He is, even when I am unfaithful to Him; how loving He is when I am unloving and fail to share that love with others; how He has always been there for me whether I realized it at the time or did not recognize it until later; and how strong He is compared to how weak I am.

I challenge you to start gazing at God and glancing at your issues. I promise that the raging waters will be stilled, that hurts will be healed, perspective will be given, and darkness will turn to light.

If you are hurting or feeling lost, abandoned, defeated, or anything else along those lines, I hope that you will at least try to commit to memory verses from God’s Word. They will be like searchlights that shine out to you, and ones that will guide you back home to safety, to peace of mind, and to a place where you can rest in the everlasting arms of your God.

Isaiah 41:10 states:

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Our God is the God who saves, who renews our strength, who causes us to soar on wings like eagles, and who shepherds us through the good and bad times of life. We should remember this, and fight like people whose lives depend on it when the enemy tries to make us forget or disbelieve it.

Some verses for you or someone else in your life: Isaiah 49:14-16. John 14:27, Romans 5:8, 1 Peter 2:9, Psalm 34:18, Psalm 23, and Matthew 24:35.

May God bless you, keep you, and may His face shine upon you.