Even to Old Age

Even to Old Age

Corrie ten Boom was imprisoned at Ravensbrück concentration camp during World War II. She was 52 at the time of liberation. In the decades that followed, she traveled to more than sixty countries, writing books and preaching the message of forgiveness and God's faithfulness — well into her eighties. She suffered a series of strokes beginning at age 85 that left her largely unable to speak. She died peacefully on her 91st birthday. Her sister Betsie had died in the camp with the words: 'There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still.' Corrie had spent forty more years proving it. In her last years, unable to speak, she would simply lift a finger to heaven when asked if God was still faithful. Always. Always.

Isaiah 46:4 is God's answer to Israel's concern that He might tire of them or abandon them in old age — a fear not unlike our own. The verse is structured to emphasize continuity: even to your old age — even as the years accumulate, even when your strength declines, even when your usefulness by the world's measure diminishes. 'I am he who will sustain you' — the same God who began the work carries it to completion. The verb 'carry' pictures an elder who has become too weak to walk, hoisted onto strong shoulders. God does not abandon the ones who can no longer keep pace. He carries them. Whatever season of life you are in today, the God who made you has not handed your care to someone younger and stronger. He carries you still.