Notes of Faith July 30, 2025
Rules for Aging
Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?
Job 12:12, NIV
Dr. John Dunlop, a gerontologist, has two rules for staying mentally healthy as we age. “Rule 1: Wake up every morning knowing what you are going to do that day. Rule 2: Go to bed every night knowing that you helped someone.”1 Those rules work for us whatever our age, but a benefit of growing older is developing a richer appreciation for how the Lord can use us every new morning.
The prophet Isaiah wrote, “The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed” (Isaiah 50:4, NIV).
As we enter new chapters in life, we may feel we’re too busy, too weak, too weary, or too old to serve Him. But part of running the race of the Christian life well is serving God throughout our entire lives. Look for ways you can serve Him today, no matter what stage of life you’re in.
Those who trust in God should never view any season of life as unproductive; even the last stage…. God has a purpose for you to fulfill each day of your life.
Dr. John Dunlop
1 John Dunlop, Finishing Well to the Glory of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 21.
No matter what age you are Dr. John Dunlop’s rules seem to apply very well…
Rule 1: Wake up every morning knowing what you are going to do that day. Rule 2: Go to bed every night knowing that you helped someone.
It is good to have plans for each day. Idle hands are the devil’s workplace. I think I may have heard that from my mom but have also found it to be true in my life. How about you?
Job 12:7-12
7“But just ask the animals, and have them teach you;
And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you.
8“Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you;
And have the fish of the sea tell you.
9“Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
10In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?
11“Does the ear not put words to the test,
As the palate tastes its food?
12“Wisdom is with the aged,
And with long life comes understanding.
Wisdom only comes as we age if we learn from the decisions we have made. It all starts with a relationship with God, listening to His will for our lives and being obedient to His commands.
Love God! Love others!
Pastor Dale