Worship keeps the soul forever young.

They still bear fruit in old age;

they are ever full of sap and green,

to declare that the LORD is upright;

he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psalm 92:14-15

A lifetime spent worshiping God, always ready to declare His goodness and praise His power, is a life well spent. The worship of the Lord bears fruit into old age. It keeps us lively and graceful. It makes the heart always going, even as our bodies lose their youth. The older the soul, the dearer the praise, the deeper the love, and the more spiritual energy there can be experienced.

I have seen this truth since I was a kid. When I was in elementary school my parents used to team up with another group of families in our church to lead a church service in an assisted living. That was the mid 70’s and we still called them “old folk’s homes”. We would literally go from room to room, take folks by the arm or wheel them into a chapel area and have what was the liveliest worship of the week on Friday nights. People would sing hymns with gusto and shout out their “Amens”. I would watch tired eyes suddenly light up when singing praise and responding to the powerful Word of God as it was preached. Men and women, some with bodies bent and twisted with disease and age, would share testimonies of the faithfulness of God in their lives. In many ways that experience still flavors my expectations of good Christian ministry to this day.

Again, I saw this during my ministry training years. In Bible college, Joni and I used to share rotation in leading Sunday afternoon worship services at the assisted living high rise just down the street from the urban downtown church that trained me in ministry. And again, the most interactive and sometimes the most moving worship of my week happened, even as I stumbled through learning to lead singing and preaching a 15 minute sermon. I was witness to the truth that the soul stays eternally young in Jesus.

So Lord,

As I am now closer to being an aged saint than a busy prime time player, deepen my appreciation for praise! Keep me green and full of spiritual sap! I want to declare Your upright goodness and faithful love. I want the gospel to enliven me and others, to flow out of these old bones in a river of praise!

Amen