It is never too late to achieve our goals in life. People like Moses, Caleb, Ruth, Abraham, Rahab in the Bible did reach their heights at an old age or despite difficult circumstances surrounding their lives.
What Happens While We Wait To Achieve Our Goals
Waiting on God for an answer can be hard and a long wait from our perspective but with God, it is never too late. It could be we are waiting for a life partner, financial breakthrough, a child, career or ministry progression, healing and the lot, clinging on to Jesus, author and the finisher of our faith is the key. (Hebrews12:2)
Waiting for a breakthrough from God is a process; it can be a lonely period and can affect us physically, psychologically, spiritually, and emotionally. During this phase, we might not be able to unburden our worries and fears to anyone, being vulnerable, and getting hurt easily by people around us. It could also be a time when different weird thoughts and questions run through our minds, such as: What is the point of living? Not an ideal position to be in, yet we find ourselves in such situations from time to time.
During the process of waiting, the Lord prunes and shapes us. Pruning means to cut back. For example, when we prune a rose plant, we cut it back to make it produce lovely flowers when it blooms. God makes us wait to make us enjoy what he has in store for us at the appointed time.
Here are four people in the Bible who had a long wait but it was never too late for them:
Moses was 80 years old when God called him. Moses was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter but got sent into exile after killing an Egyptian. He ended up working for his father-in-law. Probably, Mount Horeb where the Lord appeared to him, was a route he took every day to escape the daily frustrations on his mind. (Exodus 2&3)
Who knows what went on in Moses’ mind, his reconciliation with God, not forgiving himself, the hurt, the label the people might have put on him, especially the people he was fighting for – the Israelites? God remembered him when he was 80 years old. And the life of Moses had a purpose again! His accomplishments happened from the age of 80 to the age of 120 years when he died.
Caleb was one of the twelve spies who went to spy the land of Canaan. He believed that the Lord will protect them. As a result of his faithfulness, God promised him that he would inherit part of the land of Canaan. (Numbers 14) The piece of land promised to Caleb was not within his reach as soon as the Lord spoke. Caleb had to wait another forty-five years for all the people who did not believe to die first. He was eighty-five years old when he went to Joshua to ask for his inheritance that God promised him. (Joshua 14)
Ruth was a Moabite, according to encyclopaedia.com, she was 40 years old when she got married to Boaz, he was 80 years old. Ruth decided to go back to the land of Israel with Naomi, her mother-in-law. Ruth could have left Naomi and stay in Moab but insisted on going with her. With no assurance of getting to Israel safely or how they were going to survive on getting there, Ruth persevered with Naomi. Eventually, she married Boaz, one of her dead husband’s kinsmen. The Lord granted her favor by giving her a son who fell within the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ruth 4)
Rahab was a prostitute, who believed God would destroy Jericho. (Joshua 2:11) Because of her belief, the Lord used her as a tool in his quest. Rahab working as a prostitute did not deter God from using her to destroy Jericho. God accepted her and her entire family, she married an Israelite and gave birth to Salmon, the father of Boaz, making him fall within the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 1:5)
It is never too late with God.
