The Old Guard Is Going

by Feb 18, 2021Devotional5 comments

Proverbs 16:31 Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness.

      Ecclesiastes 12:7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. My wife said, “One of my dad’s friends passed away last night, I really liked him.” I said, “The old guard is going home, and we are moving up to take their place in society.” 
      As I get older, I have become aware of the fact that I have peace about going home to be with the Lord. I have already had a near-death experience when I had a stroke six years ago. During that experience, I had entered into the Lord’s realm of purity and true peace. The following day, I became deeply aware that what was important to me the day before the stroke and the things that became truly important after the stroke were two different things entirely.
      My age group is becoming the generation that is supposed to have acquired wisdom by this time in our lives. We have come through a lot of life’s experiences and have weathered many storms that life poured on us. We are on our way to becoming the old guard, so to speak. Hopefully, we are the gray-haired ones with the righteous answers that people are looking for in this precarious world. Prov. 16:31 Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness.
      Like the Psalmist, I can see the hand of God has been with me my whole life. I know that a lot of people can look back and identify God’s gracious hand at work in their lives. The Lord brought deliverance, restoration, and healing to many parts of our lives, and there was no doubt it was the hand of God at work. As the Psalmist got older and wiser, he saw that the children of the righteous did not need to beg for bread. Psalm 37:25 I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread. He also saw the hand of God at work within those who had chosen God as their refuge.
       I hear a lot of older people using the words senior moment when they mess up or forget something of importance. They laugh it off as cognitive dysfunction and confusion, just a part of getting old. I don’t like that self-deprecating humour. To me, a real senior moment is the moment we hear God’s voice in our hearts. It is when we get the instruction from God that clearly defines what to do to overcome, defeat, or find grace for a situation we were looking for an answer to. 
      A senior moment is that moment when through your spirit, you hear the word of God assure your heart that your prayer has been heard and answered. As I become a senior ministering in the kingdom of God, I hope that by this time in my life, I can hear God’s voice clearly, in those moments when I call on His name. May we all live in these senior moments of cognitive clarity and Godly wisdom.
      I was young once, and then I looked in the mirror, and there was the reflection of an old guy. James 4:14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring — what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Where did the years go? What happened to that young man full of quests and ideas? What will I leave behind that will be counted as a blessing for my family, friends, and the body of Christ? As I become part of the old guard, may I serve the Lord with heart and dignity of character. May we all find the righteous answers this fractured world needs right now. Amen!
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5 Comments

  1. sirnorm1

    It is frightening to consider a relationship without God. We are so blessed that God loved us even though He knew the very core of our hearts. Peace over you Don.

    Reply
  2. sirnorm1

    True Ian. There comes a point when we realize we have to give everything we have discovered in God away, or what was the point?
    The next generation needs al the help they can get. Blessings bro..

    Reply
  3. Don

    My gray hair was a result of hereditary. I got it from my children when they were teenagers.
    My white hair is a result of aging.
    It is frightening to consider life with a relationship with God, eh?

    Reply
  4. Ian Pike

    Thank you Norm! this is the reason for my living to pass on to the next generation a passion for the Lord

    Reply

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