I’m not as young as I use to be
“Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.” Psalm 71:9 KJV
It’s a saying that gets tossed around every once in a while, mostly by older people like myself. It’s: “If I knew then what I know now, boy, things sure would be a lot different.” Most people have trouble with getting older at some point in their life. It could be hitting one of those magical zero number years like 30, 40, 50, 60, or 70 years old. It could be graying hair or even your hair falling out. Sometimes it’s the aching reminder every time you get up from the couch or fading eyesight or hearing. Whatever the symptom, the condition reminds us that our youthfulness has abandoned us.
Personally, my hardest time with aging was when I hit my 30th birthday. Today, thirty years old seems really young, but at the time it was really hard for me. My life was not on the track I wanted it to be. It seemed like a lot of my friends had their lives moving in a lot better direction than I did. Me? I was working full time on my fall back, summer time job, as my career. Many people had high hopes for me and here I was a big nothing.
He was fifty-one years old. He had worked under what many would consider two of our greatest generals. Both of the generals really liked him and were very impressed by his work. But from his personal observation he had no great accomplishments. In fact, if he had died at that precise moment, very few would even remember him. He had served most of his life in the military and he was coming to the age where he would be forced to retire. Things weren’t looking very bright for him.
Our fifty-one year old was saved from retirement by a new war. Six years before this moment the U.S. Army did not have a single combat-ready unit anywhere. In fact, our army ranked sixteenth in the world at the time. Now that army was being called into combat again and it really needed all the help it could get.
Elkanah had two wives. Like many of the Bible stories that start out that way, one wife usually acts superior to the other one. The two wives were named: Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah was blessed with an active womb and she was blessed with many children. Hannah was childless, which in Biblical times was not a good thing. Hannah prayed and prayed to God for a son. She even made a promise that if God would give her a son she would give that son right back to God. God listened and gave her a son. As soon as the son was weaned, Hannah took him to the High Priest named Eli.
In June of 1941 our fifty-one year old was sent to be the Chief of Staff for General Walter Krueger at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Realizing that we had to quickly get this unprepared group ready to enter World War II, it was decided that they needed to have a mock battle. It was to be called the Louisiana Maneuvers because they would be staged on 3400 square miles in Northern and Western-Central Louisiana. There would be 400,000 troops that would participate. Many of the officers leading the troops in these maneuvers would later rise to very senior roles in World War II. Our “old man” would be one of them.
It was after the Louisiana Maneuvers that the “old man” was promoted to Brigadier General. Then in a surprise move in December 1943 President Franklin Roosevelt promoted him to Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe over General George C. Marshall. It was in this job he was catapulted into the national and world spotlights.
Eli’s sons were not like their father and his devotion to God’s ways. God called to Samuel, Hannah’s son, to tell him that Eli’s sons would be killed because they didn’t take God’s laws seriously, which could be seen in their disobedience to them. When Samuel told Eli what God said, Eli couldn’t do anything but hang his head low. Samuel would become the new Judge and the new Prophet.
When Samuel grew old he wanted his sons to take his place. To his disappointment, the people said, “No!” They wanted a king. Samuel tried as hard as he could to talk them out of it, but the people would not listen. The old Prophet probably thought his life meant nothing to these people he had served so faithfully. When God picked Saul to be Israel’s first king, Samuel did what he was told and anointed him as the King. Samuel probably thought he would head off into retirement, never to be heard from again.
Before Dwight David Eisenhower died at the age of seventy-eight years old, he could look back proudly at how far he came since he was fifty-one years old. As Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe he led us to a victory in World War II. He became a 5-star general. He was the first Supreme Commander of NATO. He was also the president of Columbia University. Oh, he was also the thirty-fourth President of the United States. He was the last President born in the 19th century. There was purpose for the life of an “old man.”
King Saul would turn out to be the problem that Samuel predicted. King Saul would seek Samuel’s advice and then ignore it over and over again. Even in death Samuel could not rest from the disappointing King. A medium called him from the grave at King Saul’s demand. Samuel would tell King Saul he was going to die in battle. King Saul died in battle.
Often as we age we sometimes question our usefulness. God doesn’t. God knows that every breath has a purpose. Let God use your breaths for His purpose no matter how old you think you are.
Prayer: Dear Mighty Father, Aging has many challenges. Please let me always be useful to You. Amen.
