The Transitions of Aging

In our later years of life, God changes our ministry. We often forget that He created us all to be Human BE-ings, not Human DO-ings. In our younger years, we DO for God, because our health encourages us to be strong and active.

Then, in our later years, we often feel that God has no use for us. This just isn’t true. Our ministry just changes, from a physically active one, to a more mental and spiritual one. God still uses us mightily in His own way and time.

Daily, we simply continue to surrender our will to God’s will, and ask Him to reveal to us His purpose for this stage of our life, just as we did in the former stages of our life. There are many things God can still use us to do.

God will show us His specific plans as we spend time in prayer to seek His will for our life. This enables us to be as fulfilled now as we ever were in our prior ministries - even though we may have many more limitations and painful physical and emotional trials now.

Like the three Hebrew children, there is a fourth man in this furnace with us (Daniel 3:25). God obviously has a purpose for our life on this earth, or He would take us home. Jesus Christ is still walking hand-in-hand with us now, and abiding within us, just as He did in the past.

Prayer:
Father God, You are still working out Your will for us, even in our Golden Years. If You choose to take us to our reward in heaven, then we rejoice. Our family may feel at a loss without us, but You will comfort them with Your love, peace and inner joy. Living means more opportunities to serve You, but dying means we will be immediately in Your physical presence.

This world is not our true home. As we age, we look forward more and more to our everlasting home in Heaven with You (Hebrews 13:14). However, if You choose to keep us in this earthly realm to perform some ministry, we pray and seek Your will for what Your perfect plans for us include. Of course, You may want nothing more from us than to passionately worship You all day long, and to pray for those You place on our heart, and that is a very vital and necessary ministry.

Thought for the Day:

Ministries for Senior Saints: 

·       We can pray for our family and meet any needs they may have that we are capable of meeting.

·       We can get the prayer lists from several churches, from the persecuted churches in other countries, and from missionaries in the USA and around the world, and pray for them several times per day. 

·       We can write our name on greeting cards and send them to the sick and dying.

·       We can call people and let them know they are loved and are being prayed for, as well as to give them someone to talk to who will listen and care.

·       We can tutor people in reading or in some other subject area that we enjoy.

·       We can pay for flowers to be sent to other people, who share in our infirmities, in order to encourage them in their trial.

·       We can make calls for our church office, or help to do menial chores in the church office to lighten the load for our secretaries.

·       We can help to decorate for church functions ~ placing tableware out or arranging flowers for each table.

·       We can go and visit other infirmed church members, if we are still driving or have someone else to drive us.

·       We can assist in a children's Sunday School class to help with various classroom duties, take children to the restroom, or hold a misbehaving child on our lap during the Bible story.

·       We can work at the register in our church bookstore or library to free others to do other chores.

·       We can assist in our church's kitchen ministry by cooking, washing dishes, donating desserts, or cleaning up after fellowships.

·       We can give time-saving advice to younger men and women, as they seek to maintain and repair the church facilities.

·       We can do community service for needy citizens in our locality, and also share with them what Christ has done in our own life.