It didn’t look good for King David. A gigantic man had cornered him and was moving in for the kill, and old David didn’t have any juice left. A few years ago, he could have taken his attacker, but now it looked like “game over,” when suddenly David’s cousin Abishai charged in and killed the giant, Ishbibenob.

You think I’m making this up? After all, David became famous for killing the giant, Goliath, when he was only a boy (1 Sam. 17:33). But, if you want to fact check me, look at 2 Samuel 21:15-17.

Why couldn’t “too old” David kill a giant like “too young” David had? God hadn’t changed.

Success At Each Stage of Life

We pass through different stages of our lives—culture defines some of these stages (childhood, young adult/marriage, children, middle age, seniors, etc.). And some of our giants disguise themselves as circumstances (trials, victories, everyday life).

The temptation is to rest on our laurels. Sometimes we have faith for the challenges of one life stage or trial, but never buckle down to confront the giants we meet in the next life battle.
Each stage of life and each circumstance trot out new challenges. All too often we win in one stage and fail in the next. But, just as the seasons in nature are necessary to life, so are these stages in our life. We may not like winter or the heat of summer, but there is a reason for them.

A New Stage

I’m dealing with the early stage of retirement.
I look in the mirror and see my father or my grandfather. “What are you doing there?” I’m tempted to say. “You’re supposed to be dead.” I see pictures of my family when the kids were all home and think, “That’s what I’m supposed to look like.”

I realize that I’m living in an incredibly important time of life. The temptation is to let my inward fire burn lower and lower until it’s extinguished in death. But, I would rather flame up in a forest fire in spiritual realms and make a difference by prayer, mentoring, and taking the opportunities before me. (And continuing to visit with you through Coffee Stains.)

The Bible is full of men and women that people expected to ride quietly into the sunset, but they continued to fulfill the reason God put them on the earth. Who would have seen an opportunity to evict an entrenched enemy in a lofty place, but young Jonathan and his armor bearer sparked a brilliant victory because they dared to walk in faith? God doesn’t need 30-year-old hands or good looks. He needs people like Jonathan who will seize the opportunity at whatever stage of life they appear.

Response to the Challenge

How do you respond to the challenge before you? Are you changing baby diapers or changing your own? Are you trying to understand a strange boss or struggling to comprehend and work with people 25 years younger than you are? Maybe you’re exulting in victory or aching through cancer treatment? Stages of life and trials … we’ve got to navigate these passages successfully.

The answer isn’t to mourn what’s lost and wail about the present. It’s not crying that others are the problem. It’s not laziness either, though you might find that you need more physical rest if you are ageing. (NAPS! Yes.)

Keep doing the things that helped you in other life stages or trials: prayer, God’s Word, fellowship with others who challenge you to grow, service. TRUST! The foundation has to be strong.

Walk Through Open Doors

I was playing dominos with an African American friend. When it was his turn to play, this army veteran stared at his dominos for a long time, searching for a solution for a poor hand. “C’mon.” I urged. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to do what ‘do’ lets me do,” he said. The voice of experience.

The door we hoped would open doesn’t always open. They don’t ask you to do much anymore. Quit moping and “do what ‘do’ lets your do.” Go through the door that opens, even if it’s not the most glorious. David didn’t go out to battle anymore. That part of his life ended. But he had a more important role. He was “the lamp of Israel.”

When mamaw Deloney, Mrs. McDaniel my mother-in-law, and Daddy passed, they all left a hole in my life. They were important. When Daddy died, I felt like someone had jerked out a pillar from my life. Now, in a sense, I have to be to my family and friends what all these were to me.

Never lose that warrior spirit of faith, that spirit that will go after giants. Caleb was ready to battle those big guys at Hebron when he was 40. Forty-five years later, he looked up at that same fortified city and determined it was still his.

We preachers picture old Caleb, long white beard flowing in the wind, running up the hill, brandishing his sword and felling giants in the city. Forty-five-year-old Caleb might have done that, but it seems as if 85-year-old Caleb acted as a general, directing and inspiring his troops.

I suspect old Caleb had more wisdom than young Caleb, but both knew that the battle belonged to the Lord. The city fell before the old warrior and his men. God hadn’t changed in the 45 years between the time Moses gave the city to Caleb and the time the old fellow finally stormed into his inheritance.

Where are you in life now? What stage? In trials or blessings? God’s promise still rings true. His faithfulness stands rock solid. The Lord Jesus still plans to bless you. Look to Him and go forward.