The Valley of Sickness, Ageing, and Death
Scripture: Psalm 23
What do you see in your mind when you think of retirement? If we read maturity magazine we picture a couple in good health, playing golf and swimming or sitting in a boat moored outside their elegant retirement home in sunny Florida. The scene looks like golden years, as we would like them to be.
Yes, we all have fears about sickness, ageing and death. However, we also have truth from the scriptures to help us face down our fears. Is it possible to enjoy golden years or should we think hard times are inevitable? Both these alternatives are true for many of us. For us life is like the,
Valley of The Shadow Of Death.
Our memory verse this week is Psalm 23:4. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." The valley here is not green pasture but rather a narrow gorge with its lofty sides hemming us in. The Bible says that in the world we will have trouble. Being a Christian does not exempt us from difficulty. (Rom. 8:23; 2 Cor. 4:16-5:2) Suffering, hardship and pain give us the capacity for access to God through Jesus. If we don't grasp the possibility of a higher good, we will miss the potential of access to Christ.
A Shepherd leads and protects
V 2,3 The shepherd led the sheep through the gorge of shadows. This is purposeful. "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." When the sheep trust the shepherd, they follow him without fear, even though the shadows are present. They know the shepherd will take care of them and get them safely through the valley.
Valleys are not the Destination.
The valley is what we go through to get to something good; like grazing lands on high ground. The valley is the only way to get there. The same principle applies to us. If we want a deeper relationship with Christ, we must pass through the valleys to learn how God will care for us. Tribulation works patience. We learn patience when God leads us through the valley of tribulation. (Romans 5:3)
*Ted Engstrom insightfully writes: Everyone who ever was used mightily went through the valleys to get there. This has been true of so many people in history. Cripple him, and you have a Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in a prison cell, and you have a John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes Franklin Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that the doctors say he'll never walk again, and you have a Glenn Cunningham -- who set the world's one mile record in 1934. Deafen him and you have a Ludwig van Beethoven. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have a Booker T. Washington, a Marian Anderson, a George Washington Carver. Call him a slow learner, "retarded," and write him off as ineducable, and you have an Albert Einstein.
Each of these people reached where they were through the valleys. If we can accept it that way, life will be easier to understand and we will be less fearful when the going gets rough. (Phil 1:12-14) Paul looked at his prison experience as a valley through which the Lord led him into positive benefits. "Life is about 20% in what happens to us and 80% in the way we respond to the events."
Let us look at three valleys' that lead to green pastures.
Valley of Sickness
When sickness hits you or a loved one, how do you respond? When that happens there is a substantial mingling of human emotions. Grieving is inevitable. It takes time to go through that valley. But much of the suffering can be alleviated when we will;
Trust God, not medicine only.
Obviously, there are diseases doctors can help to cure. Other's seem to be incurable. It's good to remember this when your world makes no sense. Rarely do you hear about cancer or other terminal diseases being healed. Occasionally we hear of a spontaneous remission that amounts to a healing. However, it's much like Paul's thorn in the flesh. Three times he pleaded with the Lord to heal him. God never answered his prayer the way he wanted. (2 Cor. 12: 7-9) Medicine did not avail for Paul even though Dr. Luke travelled with him. However, he trusted the Lord to bring him through that valley.
Our value is not based on what we do.
Do we have less value if we can't perform everything we used to do? Society says yes, as it pushes ahead with euthanasia, abortion on demand, and even forced retirement at age 65. God says 'no' and tells us that He cares for the birds of the air and that we are more valuable than that. He'll care for us as well.
Mat. 6:25
Valley of Ageing
Our society does not like to deal with real issues of getting older in America. A whole industry exists to keep us looking younger. People go to great efforts with plastic surgery to get rid of wrinkles and other blemishes that make us look older. Being old is something we want to avoid at all costs. We equate old age with sickness that leads to death; death is bad. As the songwriter said, "I get weary, and sick of trying, I'm tired of living and scared of dying . . ." We are frightened of ageing and death. I have heard of people who run off and marry someone half their age to prove that they aren't getting older.
When old is good.
What is wrong with ageing? Nothing! It is natural and true to living. Old can be good.
*For example, we pay high prices for old pieces of furniture and call them antiques. People buy old cars and call them classics. We must remember that not all old furniture is an antique and not all old cars are classics. The secret is in what they did when the classics were new. If the furniture was well cared for it added to its value. If the old car was cared for with distinction it also adds to its value. The same is true of us.
Becoming classics not junkers.
If we want to become classics rather than junkers, we need to pay attention to what we are becoming during our whole lives. If we take care of ourselves in our youth we will be in much better shape in our senior years. The time to begin is now. Solomon challenged us to "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them." (Eccl. 12:1)
Of course, the body may not be what is used to be and the years may take its toll on us but the spirit can be better than ever. A lifetime of going through valleys and seeing God change and teach us, makes us more like Christ and will take much of the fear out of old age.Ageing can be frightening, but so are many other things we have experienced. If we trust in Christ to strengthen us in old age as he has in other situations, we will be able to face down the fear of ageing and being paralyzed by that fear.
Valley of Death
*
I'm sure that preacher didn't mean it the way it sounded. There is a nugget of truth is that mistake. However, death is inevitable.
(Heb. 9:27) "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."(Psalm 116:15)
We expect the old to die, but death seems to be a cruel thief when it steals the young. People of all ages die -- babies, teenagers, young people and older people. We have to expect it and accept it. We must not question God's wisdom. Where then is our comfort? Our consolation is in Christ Jesus.Christ--Is the only one who survived death.
Only one person who has died and come back to tell us about it. That person is Jesus Christ. He did not tell us about the process, although history records His crucifixion. The process is what we fear most. However he did tell us that,
He (Christ) defeated death.
(1 Cor. 15:54-57) Christ abolished death. (2 Tim. 1:9-10) "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." (Rev. 20: 4,5) Unless Jesus returns first, we will all die. Nevertheless, if we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, death becomes a passageway into the presence of Jesus. "That to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:8)
Be real when facing death. Your friend will know that you really care. When the time is right, find out where your friend is spiritually. It's okay to have fears and to have questions. It also gives the opportunity to be reminded of God's promises.
Being victorious in death. It is not sin to be afraid of sickness, ageing and death. It is sin when those fears control us instead of Christ. The best way to defeat these fears is to face them head on with the truth of scripture and the comforting ministry of the Holy Spirit.
(1 Cor. 15: 55,56)