Do you ever feel it is too late to fulfill the plan and purpose God has for your life?
If you do, let me encourage you. According to our country’s legal retirement years, I am several years past retirement age but still work and enjoy it. I work because I want to, not because I have to.
Yet, I know that until God calls me home I will continue to walk in the destiny He has for me. God has promised in His Word that with long life and length of days will He satisfy me (see Ps. 91:16). I don’t allow my age to dictate what I can accomplish for God.
This year, for example, I still work part-time at my job, write articles for my website and continue to minister regularly, often traveling to different states and out of the country. I also attend church and special meetings on a regular basis and find time to enjoy my grandchildren. Walking in the destiny of God is fun and exciting.
In fact, I see no reason why we can’t experience life as Moses did until the end of our days. The Word of God tells us that although he was old when he died (120 years), his eyes were not dim and his strength was not abated (see Deut. 34:7). I rejoice that I can give a similar report. Although I am up in years, I have no lack of vitality and see perfectly with the glasses God provided.
In order to walk in the fullness of God’s plan for our lives, however, we have to change the way we see ourselves. We are not weak, ineffective and purposeless—or too old to make a difference. God’s plan does not have time limits like a parking meter. It doesn’t have to be fulfilled before you reach a certain age or end when your children are grown up or you stop receiving a paycheck.
God has had thoughts “to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11c) since before you were conceived. And He created you and equipped you to bear fruit until the day you leave this Earth.
The psalmist alludes to this destiny when he says to God: “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well” (Ps. 139:13-14, NKJV).
Does your soul (your mind, will and emotions) know “very well” that you are “fearfully and wonderfully made”? Do you really believe it?
If not, renew your thinking by memorizing Scriptures like this that point to the destiny and plan God has for your life. As you meditate on the Word, your mind will begin to grasp the truth that you are not an accident. You will see that God considered every detail in forming you in your mothers’ womb. He knew you even before He fashioned you.
In essence, here is what verses 13 and 14 of Psalm 139 say of God’s creation: “Fearfully” indicates that God took extreme and very great care when He created you. “Wonderfully” means He made you “marvelous, surprisingly fine or excellent.” And “marvelous” says you are “astonishingly excellent.”
Verses 15 and 16 declare that God knew what He was doing: “My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they are all written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.”
God had a plan for you before you could even step into it, and only you can keep you from it. The devil can’t.
The devil tried everything he could to destroy Moses. But crocodiles couldn’t kill him. False gods of the Nile could not destroy him. Pharaoh could not eradicate him. Instead, Pharaoh’s own daughter paid wages to have Moses’ birth mother nurse him. God had a destiny for Moses, and He protected Him so he could fulfill it.
But there’s even more encouraging news: Much of what God used Moses to accomplish came about in the later years of Moses’ life. He didn’t even get much of a start until he turned 80.
It’s never too late for you to step into God’s plan for your life and accomplish the purpose for which He created you. If you think you’ve missed it somehow by not cooperating with Him, simply repent and express your willingness to be and do all He desires. Before you know it, you’ll see that, like Jesus, you are anointed to preach the good news, heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free (see Is. 61:1-3; Luke 4:18-19)—and that you have ample opportunities remaining to bear “much fruit” (John 15:5).
Prayer Power for the Week of January 1, 2017
As you begin this “Happy New Year,” thank God that He knows the end from the beginning and while you have breath He has a plan, a purpose and a destiny for you to fulfill, no matter how young or how old you are. Continue to look with anticipation for the good things He has in store for you, and ask Him for divine appointments and connections in your daily walk. Continue to lift up our nation and its allies, and thank the Lord for His ongoing provision and protection. Pray for our leaders as they transition to a new administration. Continue to ask the Lord for revival and more laborers to reap the harvest of souls (Is. 61: 1-3; Luke 4:18-19; John 15:5). {eoa}