How Do We See Our Golden Years? – Psalm 91:16

How do you see yourself in your golden years? Say, in your mid-eighties and beyond?

Years ago, my picture of an elderly me wasn’t pretty. I would visit, talk with older relatives, and listen to their ailments. They warned, “Oh, don’t get old!”

I visited nursing homes as a volunteer and began picturing myself in what I saw. One day I realized the bad seeds I was planting in my heart while stunned by the truth in Psalm 91:16:

“With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation.”

Psalms 91:16

I was painting a dark depiction of my old age on the canvas of my heart. I would see myself old and hunched over in a wheelchair in a nursing home, buzzing for staff to help me get to the bathroom.

A Confrontation with Truth

Psalm 91:16 jolted me into a stark confrontation with my heart. God doesn’t only promise a long life to those who trust Him. He assures a long, satisfying life! The word “satisfy” means to be fulfilled and enriched. God fills the believer and furnishes enjoyment to the extent of his desire throughout his long life.

Was I preparing my heart to live a long, satisfying life? Not at all. I allowed my experience to paint a bleak future rather than what the Scriptures reveal. I was expecting what I saw in this world over God’s Word of truth.

Saying “NO” to the World and “YES” to God’s Word

I vowed to cling to God’s promise and shun what the world told me. Whenever a picture of myself in a nursing home entered my mind, I began to say, “No! God wants to satisfy me with long life!”

I began picturing myself enjoying my golden years with my husband – content in our home, laughing with friends, and continuing to serve others with our gifts and talents.

Why not? I have a choice in how I view my future. I can choose a vision of blessed satisfaction or painful misery.

God’s Plan for Longevity

I believe God created Adam and Eve to live forever in the Garden of Eden. Even though their sin of disobedience brought spiritual death and ultimately physical death, they lived for nearly a century. Genesis 5, 9, and 11 reveal how God built long life into mankind.

“The Lord blessed the latter days of Job [after his ordeal] more than his beginning.” He lived to see his children to four generations, becoming a great, great grandfather.

God promised long life to Abraham, who “died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life.”

“Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated.”

Deuteronomy 34:7

God’s Promises of Long Life

Length of days, years of life, and peace are promised to those who keep God’s commandments. Jesus revealed the simple foundation for keeping all the commandments – love.

“My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you.”

Proverbs 3:1-2

Those who seek God’s wisdom and understanding are promised long life, riches, and honor.

“How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding. Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways And all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold her fast.”

Proverbs 3:13, 16-18

The Lord promises that it will go well with those who honor their parents, which is the first commandment with a promise. And they will live long on the earth.

Changing the Seeds We Plant

Yet, do we envision God’s promise in our lives that He will satisfy us with long life? What kind of seeds are we planting in our hearts for the future?

I don’t want to justify my pain because of the harvest I’ve been sowing and reaping. I want to keep seeking God for His promised healing. He healed my marriage, shoulder, broken arm, shingles, and arthritis. He’s saved my life countless times – not because I deserved it, but because I dared to declare His promises over my circumstances.

All can change if we’ve accepted less than God’s promises for our golden years. God is ever gracious and merciful. With Him, all things are possible.

We can say “NO!” to our circumstances and “YES!” to God’s faithful Word. He can turn it all around. We don’t need to wait on Him, for He has already extended his oath of a long, satisfying life to us. He’s simply waiting on us to choose the spiritual reality of His Word, which is far more powerful than the circumstances of this world.