When the odometer on my 2000 Denali reached 77,000 miles, my car began to creak and groan. The window on the driver's side would squeak when it was rolled up or down. The door lock on the front passenger's side was so stiff I had to push really hard to open the door. There was a dent in one side that was made by the opened door of another car in come unknown parking lot. Yet, with all its defects, my car still took me wherever I wanted to go.
My body has quite a few years of mileage on its frame. My joints are stiff, and everything I do takes more time and effort than in the past. There are some things I can no longer do at all. And yet I think of David's example when God refused to allow David to build the temple and gave that privilege to his son Solomon instead. David didn't pout about what he couldn't do, but he set about doing what he could do. He gathered many of the materials to build the temple.
In spite of whatever mileage and limitations we may have, there are still many things we can do. I find no retirement plan in the Scriptures. Instead, there is a great promise in Psalm 92:13-14, "Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing."
There is a fantastic story about a woman who lived behind the Iron Curtain. The only part of her body she could move was one finger. Since she was paralyzed, the authorities paid her no attention. Everyday someone would set her before a computer, and, slowly and laboriously, with that one finger, she would translate the Bible into her language.
God will allow us to serve Him in some way as long as we are willing to do it! That's His promise.
Heavenly Father, thank You that You will always allow us to be useful in Your kingdom as long as we desire to serve You. Amen.
