Eighty-Three and Just Beginning

Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
Psalm 92:13,14

    He is the pastor of a small congregation in Maryland, and he is eighty-three years old. He told me that his wife of fifty-one years had died fourteen years ago. We talked about the Lord for awhile, but the conversation revealed the loneliness of life without the comfort of his wife. We talked some more, then he asked me to pray for him. I asked the Lord to give me the right words and I felt that gentle touch of His Spirit upon mine and I began to pray.
     I prayed that this man would feel more of the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit in His life. When we experience loss, our first instinct is to try somehow to put everything back the way it was before, but the pieces will never fit together again in exactly the same way. There will be gaps and empty spaces. But they are there for a reason. These are the places that God wants to fill and He will - if we let Him.
     I prayed that he would continue to see fruit in his ministry and not be concerned about the size of his congregation because the only thing that mattered to the Lord was his faithfulness to the ones he has been called to serve. I reminded him through my prayer that Jesus changed the world with only twelve faithful disciples.
     I told him that God has seen his devotion and gathers each moment of obedience like jewels. Sometimes we don’t realize we are sowing treasure in the simple things we do to minister to someone else.
     He thanked me and even though we were talking on the telephone and I couldn’t see his face, I sensed his smile.
     Moses was an old man too when he climbed a mountain to commune with God, and he received the blessings of a fresh revelation and the passion of a new direction.
     Eighty-three – you are never too old for a new beginning – or a little mountain climbing.

Encourage a senior with our feature -Seniors

copyright 2009 by H.D. Shively

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