Is an 80-year-old person old? Are his or her best years behind him/her? When I first read the story of Moses and his mission to rescue his people from Egypt when he was 80, I assumed that he was an exception to the norm. It was a special case and Moses had been given special grace to do great and mighty things at 80. He had to confront Pharaoh, who was leading the most powerful civilisation of that time, in order to lead God’s people to freedom from slavery. It was hard to imagine that this was the normal activity of 80-year-olds.
 
But nowadays, many more people are living till 80 and many of these folks are fairly healthy. In fact, the average lifespan for people in Singapore is 85. I have begun to think that, going forward, Moses’s story will no longer be the exception to the norm.  I am beginning to think that Moses’s experience will become the norm.
 
This came home to me when I turned 70 recently. It meant that I had to be open to the idea that my most significant work was not necessarily behind me but might be in front of me. I'm not saying that we should be in denial about our ageing. Clearly our energies will not be the same as we grow older, but this does not automatically mean that we do not have significant work to do in our later years.
 
I have reached a stage in my ministry where I am often invited to speak at seniors’ fellowships. I want my older friends to know that, like Moses, their most significant work could very well be ahead of them.
 
Perhaps there are other lessons we can learn from Moses. For Moses to be used at the age of 80, he had to go through 40 years of humbling. When Moses was 40, at the peak of his powers, he thought that he could rescue his people and that he could do it without God’s help. He initiated his own rescue mission by killing an Egyptian who was striking an Israelite. He didn’t consult the Lord. We know that this led to disaster. He had to run for his life. Moses then spent 40 years in the desert taking care of sheep, in God’s school of humility.
 
If we are to be used by God in the later years of our lives, we too must be on a journey of allowing God to humble us. As we grow older, we may have more resources, more knowledge, and more experience. We may be tempted to trust in our own resources and cleverness. We need to be clear that our trust must always be in God — in both His power and His leadership.
 
As we age, we must also train ourselves to be more aware of the presence of God in our lives. God shouldn’t need to get our attention by something as dramatic as a burning bush. As we grow older, we need to be intentional in deepening our walk with Him if we are to be of any good for Him.
 
We live in difficult times. We need God’s people of all generations to rise up for His mission. This includes the need for more who are like Moses.  We need to get the word out to our seniors. Gird your loins. Your most significant work may be ahead of you. Stay close to Him.