Never Too Old ... Part I
"So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as
the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as
I
was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that
day.
You yourself heard then that the A****ites were there and their cities were
large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just
as
he said."1
When the Israelites were conquering the Promised Land that God had given
to
them, Caleb said to Joshua, "Give me this hill country to conquer!" Caleb
was eighty-five years of age at the time. (Admittedly, they lived a lot
longer back then.)
If God had given the Israelites the Promised Land, how come they had to
fight for it? Because God's giving it to them made it possible for them to
conquer it. Had God handed it to them on a silver platter, they never
would
have learned to trust him nor become responsible and mature individuals.
Caleb achieved his goal because he knew precisely what God's purpose was
for
both Israel and himself, and he didn't allow his age to hold him back.
If we, too, want to achieve something worthwhile with our life, regardless
of our age, it is imperative that we, too, know what our God-given life
purpose is-and act accordingly.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I'm willing and wanting to be used by you.
Help
me to fulfill my God-given life purpose. Please make it plain what you
want
me to be and do. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer.
Gratefully,
in Jesus' name, amen."
1. Joshua 14:10-12 (NIV).
Never too Old ... Part II
"Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove
faithful."1
Some years ago a man in his sixties was offered $200,000 for his roadside
motel, restaurant and service station which he had spent his life
building.
He turned it down because he didn't want to retire.
Two years later when he was sixty-five, a new highway was built that
bypassed his business, which subsequently went broke. Most people at his
age
would have thrown in the towel. Not this man. He knew how to cook chicken
so
he took off across the country in his battered old car to sell his recipe
to
other restaurants. It was tough going. I have read that his recipe was
rejected by 1,000 restaurants before he found a taker. However, he stuck
with his goal and within a few years he had built a restaurant chain
across
the country and spread it to other lands as well-a chain called Kentucky
Fried Chicken. The man's name? Colonel Sanders.
I don't know if Colonel Sanders' purpose was God-given or not, but having
a
life purpose that is God-given, as the Israelites had, won't make life
easy,
but it will make life worthwhile and give you something to live for that
is
bigger than yourself.
And if it is a God-given purpose, with God's help, it is possible to
achieve
if we have the fortitude of a Caleb and a will-to-win like Colonel
Sanders.
It will also make our lives very worthwhile.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to discover my God-given life purpose
and, with your help, do everything in my power to see your purpose in and
through me fulfilled. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer.
Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. 1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV).
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