Psalm 92:12-15 
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, 
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 
planted in the house of the LORD, 
they will flourish in the courts of our God. 
They will still bear fruit in old age, 
they will stay fresh and green, 
proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; 
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” (NIV)

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People my age are tempted to quit before they retire. 

There is something about a finish line that makes some people speed up, and others slow down. 

My track coach from my earliest days of competition in junior high taught us to run all the way through the tape which was held up over the finish line. He pounded into our heads the idea that we were to run all the way through the finish line, beyond the finish line, a good ten yards past the finish line. 

If you go to a junior high or high school track meet, you will notice some runners slow down before the finish line. These particular runners typically do not win. Whether they slow down because they think they can’t get beat or because they are tired, either way there is a good chance they will lose because of their indolence. 

I did attend a track meet once upon a time where a young woman, our daughter, had at least a 50-meter lead over those behind her in the 400-meter dash. She could have slowed down, but she didn’t. She ran all the way through the finish line the way she was supposed to. She did this despite the young woman in the stands who yelled at her with about a hundred meters to go, “You can walk from here.” 

Good runners don’t “walk from here.” 

Good leaders don’t coast to the finish.

How do we “still bear fruit in old age,” as verse 14 above says? How do we stay fresh and green? 

Verse 12 is helpful. It says, “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree. They will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.” A flourishing life requires intentional growth. I see the finish line out there, but it’s not The Finish Line. It’s A Finish Line. 

My tenure at this particular place of employment will come to an end in a certain number of days. My retirement here does not mean I am retiring everywhere. There are certain tasks I’m better at today than I’ve ever been. I will keep getting better at these tasks as I reduce my focus on the other things that have been foremost in this job. I will lean into the kind of learning that will help me improve what I do best so that I can do it even better. 

Growth may look different at this stage of life, but it is not optional. When we stop growing, well, I think you get the picture. 

Olive trees can live for hundreds, even thousands, of years. They stay productive year after year for what seems like endless ages. This is a good role model. You don’t have to be old or aging to think like this. What do you do best right now? How can you do it even better? 

There’s a good coaching book called Beyond High Performance. The author makes the point that some businesses and ministries have a problem because all of their employees are high performers. Why is this a problem? Because high performance can become ordinary. It no longer invigorates. Minds begin to wander. 

The question the book works toward answering is: What’s beyond high performance? How can we truly flourish in life and leadership? 

As noted above, ongoing growth and development is part of the answer. Another part is walking with God in every area of our lives, at every stage of our lives. We know things about God and ourselves at our current age that we did not know a decade ago. The same will be true a decade from now and beyond. 

A deepening walk with God, day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year, decade by decade, opens our eyes and hearts and understanding to truths and joys we could not have imagined when we began the journey. 

The longer we walk with God, the more we understand verse 15:

The LORD is upright; 
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him. 

• God’s will and ways are always right. 
• He gives us a firm foundation on which to stand. 
• He will never lead me into evil. 

The narrowing options of our lives as we age provide us with increasing focus on what is of greatest importance to those behind us on the journey and to him to who leads us along the way. This is life’s sweet spot. It’s what lies beyond high performance. It’s that fruitful place where we have ever more to share, even as we know God in an ever deeper love relationship. 

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I will keep running through the finish line. 

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Our Father, empower me to run with endurance the race you have set before me. Empower me to finish well, to run through the finish line. Where do you want me to go today? Where do you want me to grow today? Make me fruitful and effective, fresh and green, now and always. Amen.