Step into that time machine called imagination and let yourself be transported back to the year 1954. The United States is recovering from three years of military action in Korea. The dating scene finds young couples going to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Rock and Roll erupted onto the music scene with Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” topping the charts. A typical middle-class home is eight hundred square feet and costs around seven thousand dollars. It was also the first year that you could buy a Swanson’s TV dinner of turkey, yams, and peas.
That was seventy-two years ago. That is seven decades, 854 months, 26,280 days. Anything that has been around for seventy-two years is…well, old! That describes me and many of you. To those who are younger, my words might mean very little. For me, talking about my age is rejoicing each new day as another milestone. As a wise older friend once told me, “Every day above ground is a good day.” In Psalm 118:24, the psalmist wrote, “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” When confronting old age, attitude often determines whether we remain fruitful in our service to the Lord Jesus or begin to wither spiritually. It is a choice!
I have endured ulcerative colitis since 1985. I was diagnosed with type two diabetes in 2010. I am a cancer survivor. I take a hand full of vitamins and medications daily. I monitor my diet, exercise three to four times a week, and I keep my doctor appointments. I battle the aches and stiffness that often accompany the aging process. But I feel a sense of fulfillment. I spend some time reflecting on the past, encouraged by how God has prepared me for opportunities, walked with me through them, and enabled me to grow through them. Some of those opportunities have been in dark valleys while others have been on mountain tops, but all of them were opportunities God used to correct me, challenge me, and refine me. It has been a good ride, but it is not over yet!
I believe God’s best for us is always ahead of us regardless of our age. Perhaps that is why Paul wrote these words to the Philippian Church: “This is what I do. I do not look back, I lengthen my stride, and I run straight toward the goal to win the prized that God’s heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus.”
Whatever has happened or is happening in your life, whether good or bad, can be used by Gd to prepare you for opportunities to serve Him at a greater level. Whatever you age, God’s best days for you are ahead. They might be fewer than you have already experienced, but your motivation must be to finish well. As you yield yourself for His use, you will continue to find a sense of purpose and fulfillment that can never be earned or bought. Learn from your past and sprint into your future as a fully surrendered servant of the Lord Jesus! There are no rocking chairs in the Kingdom. Finish well!
