Midlife brings a mix of accomplishment and questioning: is this what I hoped for, and what comes next? Dreams get reexamined and time feels shorter. These verses are for midlife, to renew your sense of purpose and root you in the God who is not finished with you.
What God says over midlife
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Forgetting what is behind, press toward the goal ahead.
“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
To everything there is a season; embrace the one you are in.
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Whatever you have or have not achieved by now, your life's deepest meaning is not behind you or ahead of you; it is found in Jesus, right now. He is not finished with you. The second half of your journey can be your most fruitful yet when it is given to Him. Press on; He who began a good work in you will surely complete it.
Lord, in the middle of my life I am asking what it all means and what comes next. Renew my sense of purpose in You. Redeem my regrets and use the years I have left for Your glory. Keep me fruitful and close to You. Finish the good work You began in me. In Jesus name, amen.
You were never meant to walk this alone
The family here will pray with you, and you can hear how Christ has met others in the same place.
Psalm 90:12, Philippians 3:13-14 (press toward the goal), and Isaiah 43:19 (I will do a new thing) speak to midlife reflection and renewal.
Does the Bible speak to a midlife crisis?
Yes, indirectly. It calls us to number our days wisely (Psalm 90:12), to press forward rather than dwell on the past (Philippians 3:13-14), and assures us God is still doing new things and is not finished with us (Philippians 1:6).