It Is Always the Right Time

And even when I am old and gray, God, do not abandon me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come.

Psalm 71:18 (NASB)

In school, we were taught the old adage: "It is never too late to do the right thing." To this, my math teacher would always add: "But when it’s too late, it’s too late." He would always explain the reasoning behind this idea: inevitably, a moment arrives when you wish you could change something or move forward, but that possibility no longer exists, and the opportunity simply does not present itself anymore. His argument seemed so perfectly sensible to me that I came to believe it deeply and apply it to every aspect of my life. That is why I never allowed myself to be swept away by the winds of laziness.

In my experiences with God, however, I have learned exactly the opposite. With God, it is never too late to repent and turn toward Him. It is never too late to enter the ministry. It is never too late to become a church pastor. I know many pastors who entered the ministry when they were in their sixties and beyond. Moses is a living example of this, for God called him at the age of 80 to deliver His people from slavery. God does not take the passage of time—nor your age—into account when determining whether you have passed the age to be used for His glory and for the edification of His people. On the contrary, He looks at the desire of your heart and your faith in Him.

You have undoubtedly asked yourself this very same question, or told yourself that you were no longer capable of accomplishing certain things for God. We all reach this moment of introspection. But that is not the problem; the problem lies in getting stuck on the question itself. Doing so amounts to nothing more than finding an invalid excuse for failing to act for the glory of God. I would even go so far as to say that this stems from fear, or from a form of low self-esteem. What you must understand is that what you do does not come from you, but from the Holy Spirit, who gives you the strength to act. Regardless of your age or situation, it is always the right time to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who do not yet know Him.

May the grace and peace of God be with you.