Too old?

My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. — Genesis 17:4

When God promised Abraham and his wife Sarah that they would have a son, Abraham laughed in unbelief and replied. “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” (Gen. 17:17).

Later, Sarah laughed for the same reason: “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” (18:12).

We too grow old and wonder if the Lord can fulfill His promises to us. We no longer have prominence or status. Our minds are not as nimble as they once were. We’re hampered by physical problems that limit our mobility and keep us close to home. Every day we seem to lose more of the things we have spent a lifetime acquiring. Robert Frost underscores something that we sometimes ask ourselves: “The question . . . is what to make of a diminished thing.”

Not much — if we are left to ourselves. But God is able to do more with us than we can imagine. He asks us, as He asked Sarah, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (18:14). Of course not!

We’re never too old to be useful if we make ourselves available to God for His purposes.     — David Roper

Growing old but not retiring,

For the battle still is on;

Going on without relenting

Till the final victory’s won. — Anon.

READ: Genesis 17:15-22

As God adds years to your life, ask Him to add life to your years.

The Bible in one year:

• 2 Samuel 14-15

• Luke 17:1-19