GOD CAN USE YOU IN YOUR FINAL DAYS. Isaiah 46:3-4.

In 2021, we moved my father into a memory care center because of Alzheimer’s disease. I found it difficult to watch him leave his home and his wife and move alone into the equivalent of a college dormitory—where he knew no one and, as independent as he was, would certainly be confused at first.

But God’s got this, right? God is still on His throne. And my dad would always be one of the strongest men I ever met. He suffered through hepatitis alone in a 3rd-world country (6’4” and 120 pounds!). He could handle it. And he was never “mine” to protect and care for, or my mom’s. He belonged to God, first, and God would not give him too much. God also knew how strong a man he was, and even with dementia, he would be okay.

That night, I opened my Bible and God brought scripture to my attention:

“Know that the Lord, He is God. It is HE who has made us and not we ourselves. We are HIS people and the sheep of HIS pasture.” Psalm 100:3-4.

My dad belonged to God, and walking with God can be a tough calling—because God calls us to be men of courage and faith, facing hard things with our eyes fixed on Jesus. And Daddy was strong. After a lifetime with Jesus, his faith was so ingrained that even in dementia he would not feel abandoned by God.

“Listen to Me … you who have been sustained from the womb, carried along since birth. I will be the same in your old age. I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear and save you.” Isaiah 46:3-4

God cares for us—and even uses us—as we age. He always has an encouraging word if you are reading His word every day. My father read the Bible every day for at least 30 years. I knew God would bless him even at the end, using those last tough days like an athlete working the hardest at the end of a marathon. Great rewards were coming, and I know Daddy earned more with each day. And God was with him every minute, even when we could not be. Blessing him and using him. But how—how does God use a man in his condition? Is that even possible?

Ephesians 3:10 says God uses even the sick to remind the devil that only God has the power of life and death—so in dementia, an old, faithful saint may do his life’s greatest work as proof of God’s great sovereignty over life and death and all things. (Read the passage above from Joni’s incredible book, HEAVEN: YOUR REAL HOME.)

Imagine that: disease may leave a man blind and mute, but his every breath preaches a sermon to the spiritual forces all around us. Isn’t that amazing? Praise God.

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