Psalm 94:17-19 NASB

If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.  If I should say, "My foot has slipped," Your lovingkindness, O LORD, will hold me up.  When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.

How many times have we found ourselves saying, "If the LORD had not been my help..."?  God's people know instinctively the hand of God in their lives, and they aren't shy about saying so.  They see the Unseen.  They simply don't live with any idea of chance, luck or fortune. They live under the certainty of God's attention and involvement all along the way.  That way can be filled with a rough and tough crowd, causing a lot of pushing, slipping and stumbling, but, all of a sudden, God's people feel the steadying hand of His lovingkindness holding them up.  That way can be filled with scary voices that can throw the mind into a panic, but, all of a sudden, God's people know the comforting and cheerful voice of God that calms multiple anxious thoughts.  As to these enemies of the soul, the Psalmist (vs.21-23) says, "They band themselves together against the life of the righteous...But the LORD has been my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge...He has brought back their wickedness upon them, and will destroy them in their evil..."  God does not stand by and watch His people from the sidelines.  He takes up our cause.  We are His cause!  You can put your whole weight on that promise.

Psalm 71:17-19 NASB

O God, You have taught me from my youth; and I still declare Your wondrous deeds.  And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come.  For Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?

Don't ever let your voice get dull, boring, negative and critical.  Even to old age and dying days, if we are children of God, our voice ought to have the ring of joy, sense, knowledge and experience; simply because the older we get the more we should know about the God we serve. Surely a long walk with God should make one a person of interest!  Most don't care to bear with the details of our past, but an old saint of God ought to be able to speak to the wonders of God's power with such authenticity and authority that it causes people to give attention and thought.  Don't carry on about how bad things are these days.  Why speak to the obvious?  Help people see the Unseen; the One who is the same yesterday, today and forever, giving a lively hope to all who hear.  This is the prayer of my heart!  Don't let me lose my voice, O God!  Pray it old man!  Pray it old woman!  For our generation's sake, pray that "even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come."  We need your voice.

Psalm 37:37-40 NASB

Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; for the man of peace will have a posterity (Literally, "an end").  But transgressors will be altogether destroyed.  The posterity (end) of the wicked will be cut off.  But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in time of trouble.  And the LORD helps them, and delivers them, He delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in Him.

One of the big questions that bothers our world is, "what is our purpose in life?"  Many voices have created the idea that our lives have no important end.  The word of God strongly and totally contradicts that thought, bringing to us a Voice of hope and a future.  We have meaning!  We have an end; not an end in the sense of done or over with, but an end in the sense of reason and purpose; a goal worth living and dying for. And best of all, God watches over our lives, involving Himself in our journey, to the very end of this life; which is only the beginning of life everlasting. I watched excerpts on the news this morning, from the Grammy Awards, with sadness, as tribute was being paid to Whitney Houston, who came to such a tragic and premature end February 11, 2012.  Never have we witnessed such talent with no "end".  It struck me, with a heavy heart, that, overall, the dead were trying to comfort the dead about the dead. The world doesn't grasp a better end than this. God offers better than that, as we said, with His gracious presence and strength along the way. He always keeps us under His care every day of our lives with this end in mind, prepared for those who know Him.  Live with this end in mind. It will put a lilt in your walk.

Psalm 37:23-25 NASB

The steps of a man are established by the LORD; and He delights in his way.  When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.  I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread.

Either we believe it or we don't, but what we believe will affect the way we look at life, and especially what we're looking for.  Either we believe "The steps of a man are established by the LORD; and He delights in his way", or we believe we establish our own way and He gives no care to what happens to us. If we believe the first, we will be continually reaching upward to an extended hand.  If we don't, we're on our own.  Now, there are some who think they are in control of their own destiny and make a pretty good go at it, or so it seems.  But, sadly, the hope for happiness has left a lot of bodies along the way, ravaged by financial pressures, broken marriages, troubled families, lost income, miserable jobs, insatiable and harmful habits, torn relationships, and many other things. And whether any of these things have ever touched us or not (and I pray they haven't), all of humanity has to reckon with certain other setbacks in life, be it emotional, physical or economic, and sometimes intertwined with each other.  The problem with life is things happen and, if we manage to survive most things, finally we will not survive getting old.  It will happen and it will bring this earthly life to an end.  The fact is, most of us are pretty beat up by the time we get there. Depressing, huh?  That's why I have no trouble admitting to anyone that, like a toddler held by the hand of his father, my hand is always reaching up. This affects the whole way I look at life. You see, I believe that "When I fall (when I stumble over the setbacks of life), I will not be hurled headlong; because the LORD is the One who holds my hand."  And when old age overtakes me, I believe I will be able to say with the Psalmist, "I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread."  He has a firm grip!   He'll take your hand as well.