“The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree:
he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those that be planted in the house of the Lord
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age;
they shall be fat and flourishing.”
(Psalm 92:12-15)
Scripture Reading: Psalm 71:8-24
A Lifestyle of Ministry
It’s
easy to understand why a person who is widowed wouldn’t really feel like
serving others or “going out” much.
Their world has been turned upside down and hope seems lost. However, in their deepest sorrow God can use
a widower to touch hardened hearts.
In
the book of psalms (71:9 and 18) the writer describes a desire to still serve
the Lord even in his climbing years. Although
this is good news, we need to be reminded that not all widowers are old.
No
matter the age we still have a responsibility to testify of the goodness of God
by sharing His faithfulness and power to those who love Him. King David proclaimed that as long as he had breath
he would keep telling people of all the Lord had done for him. This is how we
need to view our remaining time here on earth.
“Come and hear,
all you who fear God, and I will declare what
He has
done for my soul.” (Psalm 66:16 NKJV)
“But it
is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the
Lord God, that
I may declare all Your
works.” (Psalm 73:28 NKJV)
Throughout
the scriptures we read how widows/widowers played a very active part in the Body of
Christ. Just to name a few things, they
taught, prepared food, served tables, sewed or ministered to the next generation. All are great things to be doing, but the reason
God was able to use these gifted individuals for His service is because they wanted to serve but mainly spent much time in prayer and fasting.
If
you are a widow/widower perhaps God is calling you into the mission field.
“O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to
this day I declare
Your wondrous works.” (Psalm 71:17 NKJV)
“Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me,
until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.” (Psalm 71:18 NKJV)
Why
not take some Bible courses to gain knowledge in training others to serve? So many can benefit from your experiences and
how your relationship with the Lord has developed.
Take
in a transfer college student into your home so you can share your faith in
Christ by living out your testimony before them. Start a weekly or bi-weekly Bible study in
your home for young adults and train them in the ways of God for living in this
world.
Widowers
share the compassion of Christ in understanding pain, suffering and
sorrow. Through their experiences they
have learned to develop a lifestyle of ministry in the way they view situations.
They
are extremely valuable to the Kingdom of God. Isn’t it time we take a look at the ministry of
widowers and not just “to” widows in the Church? (cw)
September 22nd – 30th Daily
Bible Reading
*Also
be sure to read a Proverb a day.
Daily
Readings are designed to read through the entire Bible in one year.
An outreach
ministry of Shield of Faith Family & Youth Ministries®,Inc.
Copyright SOFFY Ministries/Pastor Cher. Do Not Copy. Photo credit by
SOFFY Ministries unless otherwise noted. This artwork is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.
Scripture from
the KJV/NKJV of the Bible unless noted. Scripture from: Bible Gateway. Image
Bible, Bible
in One Year Reading Schedule, Faith Moments, Faith Moments Devotional,
Inspirational Reading, Read through the Bible in One Year, Shield of Faith
Family and Youth Ministries
A Lifestyle of Ministry, The Gift of Age, Serving God, Serving the Next Generation, Encouragement, Widows, Senior Citizens, Retirement, Shield of Faith Family and Youth Ministries, Faith Moments Devotional
