Psalm 71 has good words for me at my age and with my shoulder challenge:

Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

Do not forsake me when my strength fails. (Psalm 71.9, NKJV)

O God, You have taught me from my youth;

And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.

Now also when I am old and grayheaded,

O God, do not forsake me,

Until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to everyone who is to come. (Psalm 71.17, 18, NKJV)

As I say, a good word for us in old age, “Do not forsake me when my strength fails.” But the same day I read Psalm 71, I received an email from a friend who’s not yet 40:

I’m turning 40 in September…that’s a big ol’ round number and sliding very quickly into middle age. Last week I couldn’t do weighted squats at the gym because my bad knee was acting up. I was racing my son in the backyard this weekend and gave myself a charley horse because apparently I now need to stretch before sprinting around like a child. Back in March, I was skiing at Wolf Creek for the first time in a decade and became aware almost immediately that my legs at 39 are not my legs at 29. I, too, have been feeling like everything on me is falling apart these days.

God is our God for ALL ages! We start getting old sooner than we want. For example, it’s a rare professional athlete that goes deep into their 30s before realizing that the body just can’t do what it used to.

We all need Paul’s assurance:

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4.16, ESV)