The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Fresh and Green" for Sunday, 29 January 2017 with Scripture Psalm 92:6 (5) How great are your deeds, Adonai!
How very deep your thoughts!
7 (6) Stupid people can’t know,
fools don’t understand,
8 (7) that when the wicked sprout like grass,
and all who do evil prosper,
it is so that they can be eternally destroyed,
9 (8) while you, Adonai, are exalted forever.
10 (9) For your enemies, Adonai,
your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.
11 (10) But you have given me
the strength of a wild bull;
you anoint me with fresh olive oil.
12 (11) My eyes have gazed with pleasure on my enemies’ ruin,
my ears have delighted in the fall of my foes.
13 (12) The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar in the L’vanon.
14 (13) Planted in the house of Adonai,
they will flourish in the courtyards of our God.
15 (14) Even in old age they will be vigorous,
still full of sap, still bearing fruit,
-------
[The righteous] will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”[Psalm 92:12, 14-15 (NIV)]
Standing in Sequoia National Forest, among some of the oldest trees in the world, always makes me look up. I am amazed to be in the presence of something that old that is still growing, still alive. I felt the same awe when I walked on the Mount of Olives and saw trees that Jesus prayed beneath. How could anything that old remain living?
The last time I visited Sequoia, it occurred to me that even old things can reflect God’s glory. That includes those of us who feel we have lived long past our prime, especially those who need help with daily tasks.
The sense of being old can bring a feeling of hopelessness.
Why is God keeping me around?
I ask myself.
Why doesn’t God take me home?
And then I think of the trees. They are here to make us look up as they point heavenward. And God still works through those of us who are advanced in years. We may be old, but we are also a reminder that God cares and God loves us.
See a picture of Alvin in the Sequoia National Forest, here.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the gift of long life. Help us to live our lives as a way of giving thanks to you. Amen.
Prayer focus: Older adults-------
How very deep your thoughts!
7 (6) Stupid people can’t know,
fools don’t understand,
8 (7) that when the wicked sprout like grass,
and all who do evil prosper,
it is so that they can be eternally destroyed,
9 (8) while you, Adonai, are exalted forever.
10 (9) For your enemies, Adonai,
your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.
11 (10) But you have given me
the strength of a wild bull;
you anoint me with fresh olive oil.
12 (11) My eyes have gazed with pleasure on my enemies’ ruin,
my ears have delighted in the fall of my foes.
13 (12) The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar in the L’vanon.
14 (13) Planted in the house of Adonai,
they will flourish in the courtyards of our God.
15 (14) Even in old age they will be vigorous,
still full of sap, still bearing fruit,
-------
[The righteous] will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”[Psalm 92:12, 14-15 (NIV)]
Standing in Sequoia National Forest, among some of the oldest trees in the world, always makes me look up. I am amazed to be in the presence of something that old that is still growing, still alive. I felt the same awe when I walked on the Mount of Olives and saw trees that Jesus prayed beneath. How could anything that old remain living?
The last time I visited Sequoia, it occurred to me that even old things can reflect God’s glory. That includes those of us who feel we have lived long past our prime, especially those who need help with daily tasks.
The sense of being old can bring a feeling of hopelessness.
Why is God keeping me around?
I ask myself.
Why doesn’t God take me home?
And then I think of the trees. They are here to make us look up as they point heavenward. And God still works through those of us who are advanced in years. We may be old, but we are also a reminder that God cares and God loves us.
See a picture of Alvin in the Sequoia National Forest, here.
Link2Life for January 29, 2017
Upper Room author Alvin E. Truncano in the Sequoia National Forest.The Author: Alvin E. Trucano (Nebraska, USA)
Thought for the Day: I am never too old to proclaim God’s goodness and love.Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the gift of long life. Help us to live our lives as a way of giving thanks to you. Amen.
Prayer focus: Older adults-------
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