19: God’s Calling

So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.

PSALM 71:18

I RECENTLY HAD DINNER with an old friend. He’s an academic and consultant who has traveled the world.

Over a four-hour period, we caught up and shared stories. I listened as he talked with enthusiasm about his next assignment in South Korea. He is seventy-six. I resonated with his words and commented that he’s more called now than he ever has been.

My father taught me to love the Psalms. Psalm 71 was one of his favorites; he underlined and marked it in his Bible, which I now own.

Dad would say to me, “Christians must always be ready for the possibility that God will unexpectedly act in their lives, regardless of age, and suddenly they are again on adventure with Him.”

The Old Testament is full of these stories of God calling men and women into adventure with Him —even to old age and gray hairs. Here are five lessons we can learn from these accounts:

• God intervened in unexpected ways in their lives. He still does this today.
• These men and women maintained their identities with all their own strengths and weaknesses. God used them in spite of themselves.
• Many of these men and women were senior in years and still active.
• These men and women continued to be open to learning.
• These men and women prepared for death and had trust in God. They believed that death was simply a door that they would pass through; they were not afraid of it.

Did you notice the action words in these five points? The men and women God called into adventure were active, open, and prepared. Take a lesson from their example and remember that we never retire from our God-given calling. Your calling will stay with you until God takes you to be with Him.

Questions

1. How do you distinguish between calling and career?
2. What is one area you could become involved in that would use your gifts, experience, and passion?
3. What can you do to be active, open, and prepared to live out the calling God has given you in this season of life?