TWO OLD GUYS WITH ATTITUDE
Tuesday, February 28th, 2006Exod. 7:6-7 Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD commanded them. Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
Moses and Aaron are told by God to tell Pharoah, king of Egypt, to let the Israelites go free out of his country. They are commissioned by God to confront a hardened ruler and to tell him “everything” God has commanded them to say. They are even warned by God that Pharaoh will not initially comply with their appeal and that the path to convincing him will not be easy. And even though Moses expresses his doubt to God (more than once) about God’s choice to use him, Moses (and Aaron) still go on to obey God - to do “just as the LORD commanded them.” And they were 80 and 83 years old!
It’s so easy for us to feel like God can’t use us, or use us nearly as much, as we grow older in life - to think that once we are past our prime, we are somehow past the place of being “really” useful to God. The only problem is that God doesn’t seem to define our “prime” like we do, as though we all pass through some sort of “prime time” in our lives. In His eyes, if there is such a thing as “prime time,” it is a factor of attitude, not age. And as long as we have the right attitude, it doesn’t matter what age we are because He can use us! In the case of these two “old guys” - Moses and Aaron - they possessed an attitude of teachability, willingness, and obedience before the LORD. And God used them powerfully!
Father, I want to grow old in serving You and never grow old of serving You. While I realize there will come times where I doubt You can truly use me, never let me possess an attitude that I am no longer useful to You. Help me to have the kind of attitude that says, “I am willing to do just as You command me to do,” no matter how old I am. And I know You will take care of the rest.
