Lately, I’ve been thinking about what it means to grow older as a woman of God.
The world has a way of making women feel as though our most meaningful years are behind us once we reach a certain age. But Scripture tells a very different story.
“They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.” — Psalm 92:14 KJV
I love that picture.
Because the woman I am today has something the younger me didn’t have yet—wisdom that only comes from living through some things.
The World Says We Are Fading. Scripture Says We Are Still Growing.
I’ve learned that getting older doesn’t mean becoming less. In many ways, I feel like I am finally becoming the woman God has been shaping me to be all along. There are things I understand now that I simply could not have understood at twenty-five, thirty-five, or even forty-five. Some lessons only come through living, praying, making mistakes, getting back up, and watching God remain faithful through all of it.
I’ve also learned that wisdom changes what you are willing to give your energy to. Not everything deserves a response. Not every disagreement needs to become a battle. There are things I once would have fought desperately to hold onto that I now know how to place in God’s hands. Sometimes wisdom teaches us to stay and persevere. Sometimes it teaches us that it is time to let go. And learning the difference has been one of the gifts of getting older.
That is why I love the picture in Psalm 92:14 so much. God doesn’t describe His people as reaching a certain age and becoming irrelevant. He says they will “still bring forth fruit in old age.” Still. There is something beautiful about that little word. It reminds me that as long as God has given me breath, He is not finished with me. I am still growing, still learning, still being shaped—and still becoming.
There Is Wisdom That Only Comes With Time
When I was younger, I thought wisdom meant knowing the right answer. Now I understand that sometimes wisdom is knowing when to speak, when to be quiet, when to hold on, and when to let something go.
Life has taught me things that I could never have learned simply by reading about them. I have walked through seasons I would not have chosen for myself. I have made mistakes. I have had prayers answered differently than I expected. I have watched doors close that I desperately wanted God to leave open—and later understood why He did not.
Scripture says, “With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.” — Job 12:12 KJV
There is something beautiful about that. The years themselves do not automatically make us wise, but years spent walking with God can teach us to recognize His faithfulness in ways we couldn't when we were younger.
I know now that God can be working even when I cannot see what He is doing. I know that disappointment does not always mean I am on the wrong path. I know that losing something does not mean God has abandoned me. And I have learned that sometimes what feels like an ending is actually God making room for something I could not yet see.
That kind of wisdom was not learned overnight. It was learned one season at a time.
God Is Not Finished With Us
One of the lies we can begin to believe as we get older is that our most useful years are behind us. Maybe our children are grown. Maybe our careers are changing or coming to an end. Our bodies certainly remind us that we are not twenty-five anymore. Life begins to look different.
But different does not mean finished.
Psalm 92:14 says, “They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.” KJV
I keep coming back to that little word still.
Still fruitful.
Still growing.
Still useful to God.
Our purpose may look different in this season than it did twenty or thirty years ago, but that does not make it smaller. In fact, I wonder if some of what God wants to do through us now requires the woman we have become—the woman who has walked through disappointment, experienced His faithfulness, learned from her mistakes, and knows Him differently than she did when she was young.
Maybe growing older isn't about stepping aside.
Maybe it is about stepping into a different kind of fruitfulness.
Strength and Dignity Look Different Now
Proverbs 31:25 says, “Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.” KJV
When I was younger, I probably would have thought of strength as being able to handle everything. Work harder. Push through. Keep everybody happy. Fix the problem. Carry the load.
I don't see strength quite the same way anymore.
Sometimes strength is admitting that you cannot carry everything. Sometimes it is setting a boundary without feeling guilty about it. Sometimes it is choosing peace instead of proving your point. And sometimes strength is simply trusting God with something you cannot fix.
There is also something about the second half of that verse that means more to me now: “she shall rejoice in time to come.”
She isn't afraid of what is ahead.
That doesn't mean she knows what the future holds. It means she knows the One who holds it.
At this age, I don't need to know exactly what every coming year will look like. I want to know that whatever season God allows me to enter, I can enter it with Him.
Maybe that is one of the gifts of growing older in Christ. We begin to understand that our security was never supposed to come from being young, having everything figured out, or being able to control what happens next.
Our security is in Him.
I Am Not the Woman I Used to Be
I am not the woman I was at twenty-five, thirty-five, or even fifty.
And I am thankful for that.
There are things I once thought I had to hold together that I now know were never mine to control. There are battles I would have fought years ago that I can walk away from today. There are disappointments that once would have shaken me deeply that now send me more quickly to prayer.
That doesn't mean I have arrived. I still have things God is teaching me. I still get it wrong. I still have moments when I worry, react too quickly, or try to take something back into my own hands after I have already given it to Him.
I am still becoming.
But when I look back, I can see His hand.
I can see places where He protected me when I didn't understand what He was doing. I can see prayers I am thankful He answered differently than I asked. I can see seasons that were painful while I was living through them but that God later used to change me.
Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” KJV
I love that promise because it reminds me that becoming isn't something I have to accomplish on my own.
God is the One doing the work.
And He isn't finished with me yet.
There Is Still Fruit to Bear
I don't know exactly what all the years ahead of me will hold. None of us do.
But I do know how I want to live them.
I want to know God's Word more deeply. I want to recognize His voice more quickly. I want to pray more and worry less. I want to love people well without believing I have to fix everything for them. I want to hold the things of this world a little more loosely and hold on to Christ more tightly.
And I want my life to continue bearing fruit.
Not because I need to prove that I am still valuable, but because Jesus said, “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.” — John 15:5 KJV
Our fruitfulness has never depended upon our age.
It depends upon abiding in Him.
So perhaps the question isn't, “Am I getting too old to do something meaningful?”
Maybe the better question is, “Lord, what do You want to produce through my life in this season?”
There is still purpose here.
There is still growth here.
There is still fruit to bear.
And by the grace of God, I am still becoming.
A Prayer for This Season
Father,
Thank You for every year You have given me and for every season You have carried me through. Thank You for the lessons learned in joyful places and even for the wisdom You have brought from the difficult ones.
Help me not to look backward and believe my most useful years are behind me. Teach me to see this season through Your eyes.
Continue Your work in me. Give me wisdom where I once reacted, peace where I once worried, courage where I am tempted to shrink back, and grace for the things I am still learning.
Keep me abiding in Jesus. Let my life continue to bear fruit that brings glory to You. Show me where You are calling me, who You want me to encourage, and how You want to use the years ahead.
More than anything, make me more like Christ.
I am still becoming—not into the woman the world tells me I should be, but into the woman You are shaping me to be.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.