Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well

by Billy Graham

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. —PSALM 90:12

Remember all the way which the LORD your God has led. (Deuteronomy 8:2 NASB) Remember . . . hold it fast. (Revelation 3:3) Remember and do all My commandments. (Numbers 15:40 NKJV) Remember the word . . . of the LORD. (Joshua 1:13 NKJV)

Remember His marvelous works which He has done. (1 Chronicles 16:12 NKJV)

When I remember You on my bed,

I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:6–8 NKJV)

before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”— before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain; when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim . . . the sound of grinding fades; . . . [and] men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets. (Ecclesiastes 12:1–5)

“Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him” (Genesis 5:23–24 NLT).

the Bible says that “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God” (Genesis 6:9).

I often wonder if God, in His sovereignty, allows the eyesight of the aged to cast a dim view of the here and now so that we may focus our spiritual eyes on the ever after.

I often wonder if God, in His sovereignty, allows the eyesight of the aged to cast a dim view of the here and now so that we may focus our spiritual eyes on the ever after.

Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. —MARK 6:31

The writer of Ecclesiastes declared, “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God” (2:24).

Bible says, “A prudent man gives

thought to his steps” (Proverbs

14...

You have the capacity to be a “sweet-smelling aroma . . . well pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18 NKJV).

They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing. —PSALM 92:14 NKJV

When I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation. (Psalm 71:18 NKJV)

Look for the Lord’s purpose in every circumstance and in every face or voice you encounter

daily, for the time He has given you is not without purpose.

“Your word is my source of hope” (Psalm 119:114 NLT).

God forbid that we should ever retire from prayer, the sweetest work of the soul.

Either we can use it to indulge ourselves, or we can use it to make an impact on the lives of others.

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

Faith is more precious than gold (1 Peter 1:7).

The Bible says, “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37 NKJV).

My sisters Catherine and Jean, and my brother, Melvin, were unmistakable voices to me. I can remember times when I would answer the phone and hear my mother’s sweet voice. I never had to ask who was calling. We recognize the voices of those who are dear to us and those with whom we commune. Likewise, if we are communicating with the Lord Jesus through prayer and meditating on His Word, our spirits will identify with His voice. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27 NKJV). The Lord would not expect us to hear His voice if He did not make it possible. He sends out His mighty voice (Psalm 68:33) and says we can hear it (Psalm 95:7): “I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD” (Jeremiah 24:7 NLT); and “Obey My voice, and I will be your God” (Jeremiah 7:23 NKJV).

The voice of the Lord comes in various ways: a voice in the midst of the fire (Deuteronomy 5:24); a voice upon the waters (Psalm 29:3); a voice from Heaven (Matthew 3:17); a voice out of the cloud (Matthew 17:5); the voice of His mouth (Acts

22:14); a voice from the excellent glory (2 Peter 1:17); and a voice out of the t...

God speaks to the human heart.

His voice is described as full of majesty (Psalm 29:4), a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12), and a glorious voice (Isaiah 30:30). The Lord’s voice is identified as the voice of the living God (Deuteronomy 5:26), the voice of the bridegroom (Jeremiah 7:34), and the voice of the Almighty (Ezekiel 1:24). His is a powerful voice (Psalm 29:4). It shakes the wilderness (Psalm 29:8), divides the flames of fire (Psalm 29:7), thunders (Job 37:5), and rushes like many waters (Revelation 1:15); and His voice cries to the city (Micah 6:9). We are to obey His voice (Deuteronomy 13:4) and hearken to the voice of His word (Psalm 103:20).

Gideon heard the Lord speak peace (Judges 6:23), and Habakkuk heard God’s voice say, “The righteous will live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).

For those who fear and honor the Lord, He hears the voice of weeping (Psalm 6:8) and says,

Refrain your voice from weeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded. . . . There is hope in your future. (Jeremiah 31:16–17 NKJV)

If ever you feel lonely and weak, listen for God’s words of comfort: “Hear my voice” (Isaiah 28:23), and “Lift up your voice with strength” (Isaiah 40:9 NKJV). He hears the voice of your words (Deuteronomy ...

Our attitudes play a major role in the closing scene on life’s stage.

“The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 14:27).

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5 NKJV). The apostle John said it this way: “Keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts” (1 John 5:21 NLT).

“For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see” (Psalm 36:9 NLT); “The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain” (Proverbs 10:11 NLT); “The instruction

of the wise is like a life-giving fountain” (Proverbs 13:14 NLT); and “Discretion is a life-giving fountain” (Proverbs 16:22 NLT). Then the Lord Jesus sums it all up in the closing book of the Bible: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things” (Revelation 21:6–7 NKJV).

Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands. Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees. But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged. . . . Should not your piety [your devotion to God] be your confidence? (Job 4:3–6)

“Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present

nor the future . . . nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39).

Strength is found in the wisdom of God, and that is at our disposal whether young or old.

You formed my inward parts; . . . My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought. . . . The days fashioned for me. (Psalm 139:13, 15–16 NKJV)

Even on the cross, Jesus taught that death was a passage for the spirit into the presence of God (Luke 23:46). The psalmist declared, “God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave” (Psalm 49:15 NKJV).

It gave me great comfort to know that God will use us—no matter our age—to minister to others if we make ourselves available.”

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die. (Ecclesiastes 3:1–2)

Jesus was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3 KJV). But Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)