WHAT ARE YOU DOING THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?

I recently celebrated my 56^th birthday.  Yikes – That sounds so old!  Yet, I don’t feel old and I don’t think I look that old, and my husband says I definitely don’t act that old.  J  The older I get the more I believe that age really is just a number.  If we were living back in Old Testament times I would still be considered just a child.  After all, Noah lived to be 950!  Abraham was 100 years old when his first child was born and lived to be 175 years old so I guess I’m in pretty good shape.

Isn’t it strange how our perspective changes as we grow older?  Remember in high school how everyone else on the planet seemed really OLD!  You couldn’t even imagine your life after school.  And yet, God keeps growing us and working with us through the years so that as our bodies’ age our mind matures.  In my 50’s I have learned to be so much more accepting of people, more patient, more kind.  The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 has finally started to kick in!  “…the fruit of the (Holy) Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”  And this gives me Hope!

Though 56 is definitely considered middle-aged, I know God still has plans for me.  He still has a purpose for me to fulfill.  He treasures me.  All through His Word God reassures us that He will guide us and be with us …. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See I am doing a new thing.”  Isaiah 43:18-19.  “… Forget what is behind and strain towards what is ahead.”  Philippians 3:13.  “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”  Psalm 32:8.

What new thing is God doing in your life?  Do you know that whether you are 30, 40, 56 or 76 God still has a purpose for you?  He still has plans for you and there is still work to be done here on earth that He has chosen YOU to accomplish!

How do you figure out what those plans are?  Well, it’s not as hard as you might think.  You just need to get a little closer to the Lord and include Him in your daily life.  You need to listen for His voice and when you hear Him, do what He tells you – Obey!  You’ve probably already heard from Him even today…

Did you hear Him say “NO” when you were going to lend money to your brother for the 10^th time this year?  Did you hear God say “turn right” at a stoplight when you normally turn left only to find out later on the news that there was a ten-car pileup on that road?  Did you hear God, your Father, tell you to call a friend that you hadn’t spoken to in a month and when she answered the phone in tears you were able to comfort and encourage her?

I try to practice speaking and hearing from God.  I’ve decided that the more I ask of Him, the more answers I will receive for He longs to have a relationship with us.  He longs to bless us, His children, whom He loves.  For instance, as I drive to the store to find a birthday gift for a friend I pray that God will direct me to the perfect gift.  After all, He knows exactly what my friend needs and He won’t fail to answer me!

To hear the Lord we only need to turn to Him and listen by praying, reading His Word, or being silent.  Day or night He will instruct you in the way you should go.

In Job 42:12-17 we see that “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first……..Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.  And so he died, old and full of years.”  Yes!  This is what I ask Lord, that You will bless me more in the latter part of my life than in the first.

If God is our foundation then we can never be separated from Him and His love.  Don’t let doubt, one of Satan’s greatest footholds in your life, make you lose hope for your future.  God is still working on you.

As most of you know I’ve been writing this blog for several months and then recently stalled out.  I couldn’t seem to put pen to paper.  I came up with several excuses for this including blaming Satan for keeping me too busy or putting doubt or fear in my head, but bottom line is I just didn’t take the action to write!  I knew God was prompting me but I got lazy and disobeyed.  But God, the God of Grace and Mercy, never left me.  He was right there each morning encouraging me to write His messages that He has placed inside of me.  I know He still has plans for me and will use me as much as I will let Him.  The best really is yet to come!

So today I celebrate God and the life that He is leading me into and I hope I have encouraged you to do the same.  I hold onto one of His greatest promises – “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for you; Your love, O Lord, endures forever –He will not abandon the works of His hands.”  Psalm 138:8.