By Pastor Fred Tanizaki

One of the most often heard comments older people tell me is, “Pastor Fred, don’t get old – it’s no good. You’ll get these aches and pains in places you never even knew about.” Unfortunately, getting old is not determined by choice. It just happens.

I’ve seen great athletes in my life. Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and Sandy Koufax, just to name a few. You know what they all have in common? As great as they were athletically, they all lost their battle to Father Time. As they got older, they lost their athleticism, the stuff that made them so special.

I was never close to being the kind of athlete mentioned above. However, I did play collegiate volleyball, and my team won a national championship. I was an outside hitter, and people told me that for a Japanese guy, I could jump. Decades later, I played in the JEMS Volleyball tournament. As I was warming up, I jumped. Within a microsecond, my feet hit the ground. Did I get off the floor? Yes, but not by much. My vertical leap had evaporated to almost nothing. Father Time had claimed another victim.

Must we simply accept the fact that getting old is this dismal, sad fate to which everyone must submit? No! Psalm 71, a beautiful and encouraging psalm, gives older people great hope and joy! The Psalm was probably written by King David when he had grown old. Based on the work of author and pastor Steven J. Cole, I will share three lessons over the next few weeks from Psalm 71 that will help us experience the reality that growing old can be awesome!

Lesson 1: Know God

Throughout Psalm 71, the writer expresses his relationship with Almighty God. The writer clearly knows God as his friend, comforter, provider, teacher, a beacon of light to guide his life, and his protector. He doesn’t just know about God. He knows God in a deep, intimate and personal way.

In 1994, I read about a baseball player in Japan by the name of Hideo Nomo. I was fascinated. Here was a guy from the country where I was born, and he was going to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers! I accumulated a lot of data about Hideo Nomo. His height, weight, his pitching record in Japan, and even read about his hobbies. But I didn’t know Hideo personally, nor did I have a relationship with him. It wasn’t until late 1995, that I met and developed a relationship with him.

Do you know God? Not just knowledge about Him, but knowing God in a personal way? If you aren’t sure, you don’t need someone to arrange a meeting, like you would with someone like Hideo Nomo. Furthermore, because God is the Almighty Creator of all things, He is not limited by time and space. He can be known by you, this very moment. There’s another huge difference between knowing God and knowing someone like Hideo Nomo. In this photo that I took with Hideo back in 1995, he’s barely smiling. I’m not even sure he still remembers me. But God not only wants to be known by you, He loves you!

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

And, God will never, ever forget you. Read what God testified on this very subject in Isaiah 49:15: “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.”

This is the first and most important step in experiencing the dynamic of “Growing Old Can be Awesome!” When you know God personally, you are in relationship with the One who transcends time. He cannot be vanquished by Father Time. And, this God resides in you forever, throughout all eternity! We may be weak, but He is strong, and He is with us. Psalm 118:6 declares triumphantly, “The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

If you aren’t sure you truly know God in a personal, relational way, please do contact me. I would love to talk with you more about this important topic. You can reach me by email: tanizaki@wintersburg.org.

This devotional was shared in its original form on April 29 as an e-mail sent out to members of our Seniors Ministry. To join the Seniors Ministry e-mail list, please contact Claire Seki crseki@hotmail.com.

Growing Old Can be Awesome! (Part 1: Know God)