Destiny

 The main character in my favorite novel is an old preacher in his seventies. He is still ministering despite the fact that his heart is so weak that he can't even walk up stairs anymore. He doesn't even have the strength to play catch with his young son. Yet, he continues to get up every day and minister to others. His struggles in that book end with his blessing a younger man he had long doubted and mistrusted--a man he wrestled with forgiving things that the man had done in his past. His conclusion is that after all those years as a minister, he now knows why God has kept him going--to bless that younger man was the one reason God had called him to minister and kept him serving into his late seventies.

So it is with us--with me. The reason He is still using us is because we have not yet completed what He has for us to do. The service He has called us to do has at least one more day to be fulfilled, one more life to bless. Today is not just one more day; the people He has called me to minister to are not just random encounters. My ministry is not yet finished. Neither is yours--no matter your age. I do not know if God will make it plain to me when that last act of blessing has occurred. But as I was reminded lately, I must use whatever energy and time He gives me to fulfill the destiny He has planned for me--even if I have to crawl to get where He needs me to be today. When He has used me to touch that last life, then I will be able to identify with the last words of the old faithful minister, "First, I'll pray. And then I'll sleep."

This day is God's greatest gift to you. Will you use it to glorify Him, to touch that last life with the love He has ordained for you to use to touch one more life for Him? I pray that He will empower me to finish strong, to fulfill His plan for me--down to the last step.