It’s never too late for God to do amazing things
Several years ago, I was talking to an elderly fellow who had no sense of purpose in life. He’d had a pretty rough life with a lot of heartache and some abusive relationships. Basically, he was tired of living. When I told him it’s never too late for God to have a purpose for him or do something important in his life, he groaned in disbelief.
But over the next couple of years or so, we talked from time to time and I helped him see himself in a new light, that all the terrible things that had happened to him and the mistakes he had made were like layers and layers of mud. Like mud, the bad memories and hurts from the past, could be washed away because they weren’t part of who God originally created him to be as the image and likeness of God.
My friend learned it’s never too late
It took a while, but he started to get a new view of himself and began to let go of the mistakes and all those hurts from the past. He found a whole new sense of purpose in life and began to help others in ways he never would have thought possible. Now, instead of wanting to die, he’s realized God is using him to bless lots of people.
It’s so beautiful to watch when someone realizes it’s never too late for God to work in their life and they get a restored sense of purpose.
But there are lots of folks out there in the world, who have given up. They don’t feel a sense of purpose and they’re convinced it’s too late for God to do anything purposeful with them.
It’s never too late for young people to do something new
And it’s not just people of advanced years. Sometimes people in their 20s are told it’s too late to shift gears and start a new path in life. They should have made that decision when they were 15.
And teenagers are sometimes told it’s too late for them to choose a particular life activity in sports and things like that, because to be really successful in that area, they should have started when they were 5 or 6 years old.
Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s never too late for God to work in your life.
People in the Bible learned it’s never too late for God to fulfill their purpose
I’ve been thinking about this lately and realized there are lots of people in the Bible who thought they had good reason to believe it was too late for God to use them for any sense of purpose. But instead, they learned they were in just the right place and situation to discover and fulfill God’s purpose for them and be part of God’s bigger purpose for all mankind.
The first folks who come to mind are Sarah and Abraham. They were 90 and 100 years old when Sarah, who had been unable to have children, finally gave birth to their son Isaac. Not only was Isaac’s birth a blessing to Sarah and Abraham, but it was part of God’s bigger plan to bless the whole world. God tells Abram,
… all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. Genesis 12:3 NIV
Even though God had promised Abraham his descendants would outnumber the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the beach, Sarah got impatient and tried to speed things up by taking matters into her own hands. She offered her servant, Hagar, to be a surrogate mother.
Sarah and Abraham learned it’s never too late for God to work
But this was not what God had in mind. Sarah had to learn to let God do things His way. When she had given up all hope had completely resigned to what she thought was her fate, she learned it’s never too late for God to be at work in your life.
As I said, at 90 Sarah gave birth to Isaac and lived another 37 years. She was able to be a mother to Isaac. God did not just give her a son. He gave her many years of motherhood in which to nurture and help mold Isaac into the man he became.
When God brings you to your purpose, He also gives you the opportunity to fulfill it.
Joseph learned it’s never too late for God to help
Think of Joseph, who as a young man thought pretty highly of himself, but when his brothers sold him into slavery it seemed like his high purpose would never be fulfilled.
Put yourself in Joseph’s situation for just a minute. If you had been sold into slavery in that way, it might be pretty hard to hold onto that sense of purpose he had earlier in life. And then things got worse. He was falsely accused of sexual harassment and thrown into prison.
Imagine how would you have responded in this situation. On the surface it might be tempting to think there would be no way for you to fulfill your purpose. And maybe Joseph had moments of doubt.
Joseph never let go of his faith
But apparently he did not give up hope. He did not abandon his faith in God and his hope that God had a purpose for him. This shows up in
Genesis 29:20, 21 NIV
20 … But while Joseph was there in the prison,
21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
Joseph felt God’s presence in the prison, and I think he began to believe God did have a plan for him, even though he didn’t know what it was at first. In fact, being in prison did not prevent Joseph from fulfilling his purpose.
This is true for you and me as well. Your ultimate purpose is not dependent on or held hostage by material circumstances and situations, or whatever has happened in the past. You can let your light shine wherever you are and whatever you’re doing.
Manasseh learned the hard way that it’s never too late for God to rescue you
Sometimes we may feel like it’s too late to turn back to God because of all the mistakes we’ve made, the bad decisions, and our disobedience to God.
But the Bible tells us otherwise. The story of King Manasseh is a case in point. You can read his story beginning with 2 Chronicles, Chapter 33.
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites. 2 Chronicles 33:1, 2, 9 NIV
Manasseh finally repented
This went on for a number of years. God spoke to him but it didn’t do any good.
The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.
He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the LORD, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel. 2 Chronicles 33:10-13, 15, 16 NIV
What a transformation!
If you’ve made mistakes, it’s never too late for God to help you
If you have consciously or unconsciously disobeyed God, whether once in a moment of giving into temptation or over a lifetime of doing what’s wrong, it’s never too late for God to open your eyes and your eyes and heart and restore you to following your God-given purpose.
There are several people in the New Testament who are perfect examples of the fact that it’s never too late for God to use them for His greater purpose.
Elizabeth learned it’s never too late for God to work miracles
I’m thinking of Elizabeth and Zacharias. They had given up all hope of having a child. They thought it was too late, because they were old, and like Sarah, Elizabeth had been unable to have children .
But Elizabeth did become a mother and gave birth to a son, who would later be called John the Baptist and prepare the way for people to accept Jesus as the Messiah in years to come.
Elizabeth and Zacharias no doubt thought it was too late for their prayers for children to be answered. They had given up all hope. But they learned it’s never too late for God to do what God wants to do, especially when it’s part of His bigger plan.
And that’s exactly what happened.
These are just a few of the people in the Bible who learned that it’s never too late for God to work in your life.
It’s never too late for God to work in your life
Because this was true for them, it’s also true for you and me.
Now, you may not feel this message is relevant to you because you are very aware of how God is working in your life. You’re following God’s calling on your life and you’re walking in the footsteps of Jesus in loving and caring for people, letting your light shine, and encouraging others to follow Christ as well.
So if this describes your situation, I hope you will take this as a
Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness! Matthew 25:21 NIV
This is from Jesus’s parable of a faithful servant who used wisely the talents given him by his master.
But if you feel in any way you have not used the talents God has given you, that you haven’t answered God’s call on your life and doing what God wants you to do, it’s never too late for God to come back into your life.
Did the 3rd servant learn it’s never too late for God to help?
Have you ever wondered about the 3rd servant who didn’t put to use the one talent he was given to use, but buried it in the ground?
Jesus concludes this parable with the Master saying,
And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 25:30 NIV
We usually think that’s the end of that servant, but he too could learn that it’s never too late for God to work in his life.
Think of Joseph, who was thrown in prison. It didn’t stop him from following God’s purpose for him. And think of King Manasseh. Even though he was a prisoner in a foreign country and he had done all those terrible things, he learned it’s never too late to see the error of his ways and repent, turn back to God, and then restore worship of God when he returned to Jerusalem.
That third servant maybe gnashed his teeth, maybe suffered a little bit, but it brought him to his senses, and he could still have the opportunity to repent and turn back to God.
No matter what, it’s never too late for God to work in your life
Whatever you’ve done you shouldn’t have or not done that you should have, no matter what the circumstances are in your life now or were in the past, it’s never too late for God to be at work in your life.
It simply requires you turning away from what is wrong and turning to God.
I love this promise from God.
As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Ezekiel 33:11 NIV
God is giving us the promise of life.
All these stories in the Bible of people who realized that it’s never too late for God to be at work in your life have given me a lot of encouragement over the years.
It took me years to realize it’s never to late for God to work in my life
When I was in high school I got a clear indication of my purpose, to help bring unity to the body of Christ. I held it as a high hope for years, but then life happened, marriage, kids, the ups and downs of daily living.
For years I held onto a thread of hope that one day I might be able to come back around to nurturing unity in the body of Christ, but at some point, I let go of that desire. I just didn’t see any way I could accomplish this, even in the smallest way. So I just kept taking one day at a time and following God’s direction the best I could, for the next step in life.
I had been a full-time stay-at-home dad for about ten years when our kids were small. Then I did voice over work for a few years, where I learned how to record and edit voice files for clients and how to market and promote my business.
I started doing Bible study classes at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, CT, where I discovered my ability to talk about the Bible in a non-dictatorial way that empowered people to see themselves in the light of God’s love for them.
Because people in the prison found these Bible classes so helpful and transformational, I started this podcast back in 2019 to reach a larger audience with this message of hope from the Bible.
One thing led to another and all worked together
And all the skills I had learned in the voice-over work, and the marketing and how to record and edit audio files all came together. Everything that I thought was just separate little parts of my life, all came together for me to do this podcast.
And then, over the next several years, I started making connections with Christians from a wide variety of faith traditions and perspectives. I’ve been interviewed on lots of other podcasts where I have talked about the importance of spiritual unity in the body of Christ, what it is and what it isn’t, and how it’s actually possible.
After two or three years or so of this, I suddenly realized one day that I was actually beginning to fulfill that sense of purpose I had back in high school to bring unity to the Christian world.
Unity in Christ
Back then, I thought it would be that we would all agree on doctrine and theology. And I believe that will happen at some time in the future when Christ calls us all together and we’re willing to give up our human opinions about what is correct theology and doctrine.
But in the meantime, I can see that it is possible for all Christians to unite in our love for Jesus, our desire and efforts to follow him, and obey his teachings in our daily lives.
If you’d like to follow this thread of unity in the body of Christ, here are a couple of previous episodes on this topic.
Episode 105: Why Isn’t There Unity in the Body of Christ?
Episode 345: The Only Path to Christian Unity
What if I had done some things sooner in life?
Sometimes I look back and the odd and circuitous path I’ve taken to get where I am now and wonder how things would be in my life if I had done sooner some of the things I’m doing now.
I look at people half my age acting with such purpose and confidence in their very purposeful lives and it’s tempting at times to compare myself to them and be critical of how long it’s taken me to finally do what feels like God’s calling in my life.
But then I look back at how each step in the path I’ve taken has been a crucial part of preparing me for what I’m doing now. And I realize everything has been in God’s timing. And to be critical of the way things have happened is really to criticize God.
Could I have done things differently and gotten where I am, sooner? I imagine so, but the important point is God has guided me each step of the way and I am where I am right now and going forward.
It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to realize it’s never too late
I feel very encouraged when I look at where I am in my life right now. It doesn’t matter to God how many trips around the sun I’ve made. It doesn’t matter to God how many times you have circled the sun.
Why? Because, as Jesus promises and proclaims:
…the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17 KJV
God’s kingdom, power, authority, love, and grace are all here right now in all their fullness. Nothing can stop God from working in your life, at whatever point you may be in your life.
God cares about what’s in your heart. Does your heart focus inward on just getting what you want out of life? Or does your heart look outward with love for God and others?
Do you decide what your purpose is and make it happen. Or do you have a deep desire and make a sincere effort to listen for and do God’s will?
Do you do whatever you want to and go wherever you want to go, or do you strive to follow Christ?
It’s never too late for God to reveal your purpose and help you achieve it
To the degree your heart is full of love for God and all His creation, you strive to do God’s will, and you follow Christ in your daily life, God will work in you and with you, sometimes without you realizing it, to accomplish His purpose for you.
Just like God was preparing me each step of the way without me realizing it, for what I’m doing now—the voice-over work, marketing and promotion, Bible teaching in the prison, and so much more.
God is using you right now in the same way, preparing you for something purposeful, increasing the sense of purpose in your life. And it’s never too late for God to work in your life.
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by learning to think, pray, and love like Jesus. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Genesis 12:3 NIV
3 … all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
2 Chronicles 33:1, 2, 9 NIV
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years.
2 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
9 Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.
2 Chronicles 33:10-13, 15, 16 NIV
10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.
11 So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.
12 In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors.
13 And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.
15 He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the LORD, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city.
16 Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel.
Matthew 25:21 NIV
21 Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!
Matthew 25:30 NIV
30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Ezekiel 33:11 NIV
11 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.
Matthew 4:17 KJV
17 …the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
