All of my life I have believed that our latter years are to be particularly important. That seems to be a sub-theme in Scripture. Many personages in the Bible made their greatest impact in the seasons of advanced age. Moses, Joshua, David, Paul, John and many others performed significant ministry in their later years. God clearly intends for each one of us to pass on His truth and testimony to the next generations. This thought is certainly expressed in Ps. 71:18.

But our later years are often filled with doctor’s appointments and medical procedures. I had one this week. It seems that we are being relegated to the sidelines more and more. All of these experiences remind us of our waning strength. But they should prompt us to remember that it has been His strength – not ours – that has brought us this far. In Psalm 40 we are reminded that, “Many, O LORD my God, are your wonderful works which you have done; and your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to you…”

We are left with this challenge, as gray heads, in our most important years of life. We are urged to leave a legacy that trumpets God’s greatness, strength and power to the next generation. We are to tell of His works in a way that points to His greatness and glory, and not just to our exploits and wisdom. Ps. 111 declares “He has caused His wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.” It is His faithfulness that we are to declare.

The Psalmist then delivers this punch line: “He has shown his people the power of His works…” God has shown His works of power in the pages of Scripture, in the record of history, and in the experiences of our lives. Not that history and experience equal, or validate, Scripture. They don’t. But the Psalmist in Ps. 37 explains “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.” Throughout our lives we have witnessed the faithfulness of an all-loving God, and we are to declare that testimony to those who follow.

God is true to His Word. That is what God’s Word tells us. That is what history and our experience confirms to us. The Lord is faithful to His promises. He is faithful to His Word. He cares for his own. We need to declare those truths and exalt the faithfulness of God’s character – His promise keeping character. That is what we need to leave to the generation to come. We need to leave a testimony of His strength and His power.