Mensa Otabil - Old But Able
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Exodus chapter 7, verses 6 and 7: Then Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded them; so they did. And Moses was 80 years old and around 83 years old when they spoke to Pharaoh. Moses and Aaron were old men by today’s standards; Moses was 80, and Aaron was 83.
There are lessons we can learn from how God used these old men to fulfill His purposes in delivering Israel from captivity. They show us that we can accomplish so much with God, even late in our lives, and that we are useful to God at any age. God is not a respecter of age. Throughout the Scriptures, we observe that God is able to use very young people, and in this case, very old people. He called Samuel when he was just barely a teenager; He used David when he was a teenager; He used Daniel when he was a teenager; and He used Moses when he was an octogenarian-80 years of age-at a time when people would typically be retiring from service.
If there’s anything we can learn from Moses, it’s that being retired from service in one area does not mean you are not useful. Moses was retired from service as a shepherd watching his father-in-law’s sheep, but God gave him a new job at 80 years of age to do something very profound and supernatural. We are useful to God at any age, whether we are young, middle-aged, or, in the case of Moses and Aaron, in our 80s. God is not done with us because of our age.
The second lesson we can learn from Moses is that God can give us a second opportunity. Moses first started to deliver Israel when he was 40 years old, and it didn’t go well at all; both the Egyptians and the Jews rejected him. Then he left and spent another 40 years in the wilderness, by which time you would have thought that there was no hope for him, that he had blown his opportunity and there was no chance for a comeback. But here, at age 80, God is giving him a second chance.
Some of you are looking at your lives and saying, «I made a mistake when I was 20 or 30 or when I was a teenager, and maybe that’s it for me; God will not give me another chance.» But the God we serve is a God of possibilities, newness, and freshness. Just as He did for Moses, He can bring back an opportunity we lost 30 or 40 years ago and open a new door for us to accomplish the things we wanted to do that we failed at. Don’t ever underestimate God’s ability to give you a second chance, and that’s what He did for Moses after he made a mess of an early opportunity.
Here he comes again to embark on the same delivery process that he failed at.The third lesson is that God’s grace is our strength. Moses and Aaron are both 80 and 83. No matter how we look at it, an 80-year-old man will not be as strong as a 40-year-old man. God is telling us that even when we feel physically frail, His grace is able to propel us. Think about it: He was not just going to confront Pharaoh; he was going to undertake a pilgrimage to lead the people through the wilderness-a very tough job. But God’s grace gave him the strength to do what He had called him to do.
So if God has called you to do something, age is not a problem. And if you messed it up the first time, He’ll give you another chance. When you don’t have the physical strength, or whatever strength you need, God’s grace is sufficient for us, and He will help us.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, You hold my years in Your hand. Let each year of my life be more productive than the previous one. In Jesus' name, Amen.» I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.