Notes on Hope Devotional
It’s a Promise
Isaiah 46:4
Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
There’s a Post-it note on my desk that contains a list of 8 friends who celebrated a birthday in January or will celebrate in February. Dollar Tree has been the source where I love to pick out just the right birthday card for each friend. Some of the cards use humor in describing the aging process and getting old. Other cards remind us of the gift of the years we are given.
Today’s verse offers a promise of God’s faithfulness as we move into the last chapter of life.
In a culture that idolizes youth and beauty, old age and gray hair are dismissed and resisted. I’m reminded each morning of my aching body parts, telling me I’m aging. But in this verse, aging and gray hair are gifts. As we move ahead in time, turning the calendar, God is still God and will carry us. From the first words, “Even to” amplifies a sense of not withholding or staying distant, as well as continuing to see how God is forever faithful.
Each phrase in this verse encapsulates an all-encompassing sense of God’s presence.
God is our Creator, who made us and knows us from the womb.
God carries us close from childhood, parenthood, widowhood, from beginning to the end.
God will sustain us, strengthen us, support us, and secure us to Himself through every season.
God will rescue, ransom, reclaim, redeem us, and renew us.
God's promises come from His unfailing kindness, never-ending faithfulness, and everlasting love for us.
As we see the years go by and find another gray hair, we can know God sustaining us, His Spirit guiding us, and His love surrounding us. He promised.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the promise of Your presence as we grow older. Remind us, when we face the reality of aging, on days when our bodies are weary, that You are sustaining and carrying us. Thank You.
In Jesus Name,
Amen