19th-25th May 2025
I am ten years older now than I was in 2015! It’s fairly common to see people getting older! Some are old. And some old people refuse to be old!
Old age changes the speed of life and shows us new things. It can mean we go slower … and hear the birds sing … or miss the chatter of friends who have moved on to Heaven.
Back in 1985 I remember listening to an old Baptist pastor, Louis Deens. He said, ‘When you get to my stage in life, you realise most of your fiends have gone ahead of you to heaven’. I have never forgotten that comment.
I am asking you to pray for older people in Glenabbey Church.
Pray for old people in your street.
Pray for people who once had responsible jobs, but are now old and have been bypassed in the traffic of life.
For some people, old age has suddenly become more of a struggle since their spouse died. They now make decisions alone … about holidays … or which coffee shop to go to on Wednesday.
On Sunday morning that person arrives alone at church. In the past they chatted over lunch with their partner, about the people they met on Sunday or what both of them discovered about church as they talked. Now ... they reflect alone about Sunday morning and the people they met. Their social life has become smaller.
The likelihood of living alone increases as people get older. The likelihood of being in good health decreases with advancing years.
Here are some old people in Scripture from whom we can learn.
Written by John O McIlvenna
MONDAY
Caleb
Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” Numbers 13:30
“Just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day.” Joshua 14:10
He was one of the ten Hebrew spies who brought back a report to Moses about attacking Canaan. Ten spies said it was too difficult. But Caleb and another said, ‘Go! God is with us.’ (a loose translation).
When he reached 85, he was of same mindset. Go forward for God. This old man still had fire in his belly and belief in Almighty God. I love the picture. Look out for these people and enjoy their positivity.
They know what the right thing is, they do it and then watch others discussing why it cannot be done!
Pray that you will meet such people.
You can be a Caleb to others this week.
Don’t let your years stop you from serving God. Don’t let others stop you.
Yes, Caleb is certainly one of my heroes. I look forward to meeting him soon.
TUESDAY
David
“I was young and now I am old yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread.” Psalm 37:25
Every old person was a youth. With memories, mistakes, gains and goals. King David identified with all that. We know the story of David from his youth in First and Second Samuel in the Old Testament. Chosen by God when a young lad and anointed next king of Israel. He struggled with Saul. The kingdom grew in size. He had family problems as his children fought each other.
He reached old age and this is his testimony. He looked to his God and found he had provided. It’s a great testimony. I believe this teaches us to be grateful for all God has given to us.
If you are an older person, you can appreciate God’s guidance through your life. Pray for others.
Pray for those Christians who cannot see God’s provision through their lives.
I look back on my life and revel in God’s care for me. I often thank God for my Christian heritage in Carrickfergus Baptist Church, and Christian parents, and others who encouraged me. I thank God for helping me to do a few ‘different’ things and learning in the Kingdom of God. In Limerick, London, Lebanon.
Look back at the blessings of God in your life and thank him.
Pray for old people.
WEDNESDAY
Paul
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7
Here the Apostle Paul looks back. It’s 67 AD. He is in prison and expects his race of life to end soon. He looks forward to the reward of a crown. The past is a success and the future is greater because he will meet his Lord. Paul compares life to a race which may be a struggle. We had the Belfast Marathon on 4th May, and we saw joyful runners … at the end with their medals. They ran for 26 miles because they could see the end … and the joy. St Paul had a notable life with success and disappointments but he can now look forward to ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ when he meets his Master.
Paul’s prison experience does not damage his hope and excitement of meeting Jesus soon.
So, praise God for a moment. And thank him for the future when you will party in Heaven with Jesus.
Life is like the cinema. You go to see a film, but short trailers are shown firstly. I think life here in Co Antrim is short like those trailers, but we will go on to the main film … living with Jesus in Heaven.
Pray for older people today.
When you see an old person on Sunday, speak to them. It may be the most significant conversation of the week, to them!
If you think you are an old person, talk to a young person on Sunday.
And if you can remember their name, that is excellent.
And pray.
THURSDAY
Anna
There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Luke 2:36-38
When Jesus was small his parents took him to the temple, where he met Anna. These few verses give us the only picture we have of her. She was a prophet and lived in the temple. Luke tells us she was very old. (Did she mind being described as very old?) Life had been hard for her as she only enjoyed 7 years of marriage and now she is 84. She has been a widow for a long time. She was not bitter but thanked God and rejoiced to see Jesus. Sometimes old people can become grumpy, but not Anna.
She worshipped God, she fasted, she prayed, she thanked God. Was that the secret of a contented old lady? Perhaps some of our modern lifestyle with a focus on ourselves and the Joneses, is not good for our health.
If we stop and sit down for a moment, I am sure we can learn from this very old woman.
Please look around today and thank God for what you have.
Thank God that he included in the Bible short biographies of people like Anna.
Holywood will not make a film on her life. She is insignificant. Her story is too short. She did not travel far.
But God included her in his holy book. She met Jesus. Anna’s life is a rip-roaring success. Contentment.
Thank God for the old people who pray for us.
FRIDAY
Abraham
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going … And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
Hebrews 11:8
Abraham’s story is found in Genesis, especially chapters 15 and 17. I see him as the man who trusted God, when called to leave Ur of the Chaldees … and, when in old age, he trusted God to fulfil his promises.
God promised him that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the shore. Abraham was delighted … but there was a problem. He had no children!
But Abraham believed God. When Abraham and Sarah were ‘already very old’ (Genesis 18:11), God’s messenger promised they would have a son in twelve months. And that is exactly what happened when Issac was born. Here are two old people who trusted God and waited. We can trust God today in a secular world. We can keep on trusting when it’s hard. I admire Abraham here.
Sometimes our old people find it hard to keep on trusting God because … life is so long now, loneliness is a growing issue, their life experiences are out of kilter with people around them, and the media seems to feed us depressing stories (my 90 year old friend does not watch television because the news is so depressing).
Some of us want to give up believing.
Please hold on.
Abraham found it hard to believe in God. But he did.
SATURDAY
Samuel
‘Be sure to follow the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you’. 1 Samuel 12:24
Samuel was one of the great prophets in Israel. As a child God called him in 1 Samuel chapter 3.
As a spiritual leader he had a difficult time keeping Israel on track.
When he was old, the elders of Israel (chapter 8) seemed to reject him and demand a king, because nations around them had a king! As we look back on the life and service of Samuel, he is highly regarded for his honesty and leadership. He continues as God’s spokesman to care for Israel even when they follow the example of pagan nations round them. God’s way was seen as too different for the people.
Samuel appeals to them. ‘Be sure to follow the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you’. 1 Samuel 12:24.
Even when things go wrong or others let us down, we can follow Samuel’s plea to the people. Our world is so different from Samuel’s but some things are the same.
People forget God. We need to serve God with all our heart. Deuteronomy 6:5.
Pray for old people actively serving God. I use Open Doors prayer diary and today we are asked to pray for ‘an elderly fieldworker who roams the woods in China looking for North Korean escapees to help them and share the Gospel’. Brilliant. Psalm 92:14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming ‘The Lord… is my Rock’.
Pray for our church leaders, that God will guide them and give them energy.
SUNDAY
Wisdom
Are you wise?
The Bible admires wisdom in people.
Our society admires people with millions of followers on social media! Two different worlds.
The Bible often shows old people with wisdom. People who live long see a lot of life and human experiences. That often brings wisdom.
Moses the young leader of God’s people heeded wise advice from his father-in-law (Exodus 18:21).
Job 12:12 CEV ‘… gain some wisdom from those who have lived a long time.’
Proverbs has so much to say about wisdom. It stands in contrast to our world where money, youth and fame are all valued. Proverbs has many wise statements about friends, marriage, money, work and alcohol.
We need all that wisdom for life today.
‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.’ Proverbs 9:10. It’s a key starting point for life when we trust in God and live for him and seek his guidance. Trusting God is our sat nav.
May I tell you about Abigail? She is one of my heroes. She has wisdom and beauty (interesting combination). When she arrives on the scene in 1 Samuel 25:18 there is going to be slaughter and destruction of people and farm stock. Being wise, she understood the people involved and what would happen.
She acted quickly and decisively, to charm a very angry David.
The story ended well, thank God, for a wise woman.
You may be able to listen to an older person this week.
Give them time to talk as they tell their story.
Imbibe their wisdom.
Warning: Not every old person is wise.