Psalm 71:9

Psalm 71:9

When I am old

The spiritual journey of life has many twists and turns. From my own experience I can say that my early years were full of earnest endeavour, but my personal, spiritual nourishment was minimal, what saved me was the effort I put into feeding others! The inner battles, in those years, were intense and highly discouraging; when was I going to be the man I wanted to be, let alone what God wanted me to be? Raising a family, running a business, leading a church, all of these things took so much time and effort, that my middle years were also times of wilderness experience where it was not easy to find time to draw near to my Lord. And yet! And yet, there were moments when He drew near to me, outstanding moments that changed my life and convinced me that I was His child. 

Now that I am older, I can certainly say with the Psalm that it would be a tragedy if the Lord were to desert me and forsake me. He is closer today than he has ever been. However, at this moment in time my earthly father is still living. He is approaching the age of 93 and is virtually bed-ridden. He cannot see very well and cannot pick up his Bible and read. He cannot work a CD Player and he is visited 4 times daily by carers. He may well identify with David’s heart cry here. It is a huge responsibility for my sisters and I, to read and pray and share with him, lest he feels that the Lord God has “forsaken him, when his strength is gone.” May we never have to pray such a prayer.

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