Dear Ones, Hope you have a refreshing weekend! I plan to make a Finnish Pasty and then Al and I are going to church for another funeral this morning.Devotions from Judys heart
Al and I are getting older, we can’t do all that we used to do, and sometimes we wonder how we did it back then. I was reading what Sherilyn Hammon wrote about her father who she now cares for, but who used to travel over 250,000 miles a year as he taught, preached and equipped leaders all over the world. Her father is now in a wheelchair, but God’s call on his life hasn’t changed even though he doesn’t have energy that He used to. God’s purpose for him is the same, but how he carries that out is different today.

The big take away from her article was that we are not to measure ourselves by our usefulness and productivity, but rather by the purpose and calling God gives us. She uses the example of when our children were babies: they didn’t contribute or accomplish anything, yet they had great value to us. Their worth was not contingent on what they produced. Similarly, when we began walking with the Lord, we were dependent on Him and valued even when we didn’t do anything special for His kingdom. But somewhere along the line we confused activity with purpose, thinking just because we are busy we are effective and accomplishing our purpose. But that is not necessarily so, for the big question is: are we doing what God has called us to do?

Our relationship with the Lord is most important and our calling grows out of our connection to Him, not how we perform. God loves us just as much when we were new Christians or old frail Christians as he did when we were young and busy serving Him in ministry. Just like Sherilyn’s dad who can no longer fly around the world to equip and train the next generation: his value has not decreased, for he sees the fruit carried out in their lives. His assignment has been changed and he matters to the Lord just as much as ever!

Let us remember as we see old people or become aged ourselves that we may still preach an unspoken message if we continue to trust God and walk with Him faithfully. May our connection to Him remain strong always, even when our capacity may change.

Challenge for today: Be fully dependent on the Lord and meditate on John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy