All part of God's plan

By Maria Fontaine

Our limited human understanding can’t grasp all that goes on with our bodies as we grow older. As King David said, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). But the Lord is able to help us understand as much as we need to if we will look to His Word and go to Him in prayer for the answers to our questions and problems.

The Lord allows this period of uncertainty as a crossroads or checkpoint, to force us to take stock of our lives to be sure that we continue in the direction that He wants us to go. Whenever we come to an important crossroads like this, our outlook has a major bearing on the outcome. If we look at the situation negatively, seeing only the problems and apparent limitations, we’ll take the road that leads us down. But if we’ll look for possibilities and set our sights high, we’ll take the high road that leads to greater happiness and fulfillment. As Jesus said, our faith—what we expect God to do for us—is the determining factor: “According to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29, KJV).

One bedrock promise that makes a wonderful point of reference is found in Romans 8:28: “All things work together for good to those who love God.” If you love God and know how much He loves you, then you can be sure that He has your best interests at heart and wants to use even the problems that come with midlife to help you make positive changes. You will then be able to see midlife through the eyes of faith, looking not at the problems, but at the new possibilities you know He will open to you.