It’s Never too Late with God: 3 Ways Your Life Has an Eternal Impact

Have you ever worried that what you have to offer to the Lord isn’t relevant anymore? Maybe you’ve wondered if you have anything left of value after so long, or after how far you’ve gone. The Bible is abundantly clear: IT IS NEVER TOO LATE WITH GOD!

People often struggle with how long it has taken them to “catch up” to everyone else, fearing they are too old, or too irrelevant to make an impact for Christ. That is a lie from the enemy!

Whatever you missed out on, wherever you’ve strayed, whatever you feel the enemy has taken, wherever life has brought you, whatever choices you’ve made, however you were raised – it doesn’t matter.

God knew all the details of your life before you did – and He STILL has His plans in place for you to make an impact in His Kingdom.

God knew all the details of your life before you did – and He STILL has His plans in place for you to make an impact in His Kingdom.

~ Alicia Purdy ~

Anna, the prophetess who had spent her life in the temple, devoted herself to the Lord after being widowed as a young woman. Because of her faithfulness, she was rewarded by the Lord as an early witness to the Messiah, Jesus, proving that it’s never too late with God!

The fact is that whatever God has called you to do in your life, you’re not “too far gone” and you’re not “too late” for the Lord to use you for the purposes He has planned for you.

God’s plans for you are for a “future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11) and that is an eternal plan!

It’s Never too Late with God! His Timing Has No Deadline

The apostle Luke recorded the account of Anna, an elderly woman who was among the very first people to encounter Jesus, the Messiah, while He was still an infant. When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple when He was eight days old, Anna was there. Why?

Luke notes that Anna, “…did not depart from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayer night and day.” (Luke 2:37) But how did Anna know that the baby she met, out of all the others she had seen in the temple, was the promised Messiah?

Anna knew Jesus was the Messiah because she had devoted her life to being close to the Lord and so when He arrived in the flesh, she recognized Him in the Spirit.

Anna had devoted her life to being close to the Lord and so when He arrived in the flesh, she recognized Him in the Spirit.

~ Alicia Purdy ~

The book of Luke notes that Anna had been married for seven years and then was widowed. Anna, in her advanced age of 84 years old, was a prayer warrior and she was well-known in the temple because she never left it!

Even in her extremely advanced age, Anna was in God’s perfect timing, and she made an eternal impact in the world after her encounter with the newborn King of Kings. How?

3 Ways Your Life Will Have an Eternal Kingdom Impact

1. Remain, Recognize, and Report

According to some timelines, Anna could have been as old as 105 by the time she encountered the Messiah proving that in God’s eyes age means nothing at all.

• Sarah was 90 when she gave birth.
• Noah was 600 when the global flood started.
• Moses was 80 before his ministry began.
• Elisha was dead and God used his bones to raise someone to life!!

“Coming at that moment she gave thanks to the Lord and she spoke of Him to all those who looked for the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:38)

At that time in history, the Jews were not expecting the Messiah to be born into humble circumstances – they were expecting a military power who would overthrow Rome. Anna had eyes to see what others couldn’t because she remained close to the Lord.

Many died before seeing the Messiah (Hebrews 11:13), but Anna lived to the age right where God needed her to be because God knew she would recognize Him and she would tell others. Anna had a good reputation in the temple and people believed her word.

Anna lived to the age right where God needed her to be because God knew she would recognize Him and she would tell others.

~ Alicia Purdy ~

Just like John the Baptist later declared the coming of the Savior, Anna did the same, opening hearts, and influencing minds, and paving the way for the King because she was already His humble servant.

It doesn’t matter to the Lord what you look like or what your skills are, your intelligence, your connections, your charisma or anything else. Your life is not too far gone for you to have an eternal, Kingdom impact.

God uses the “least” and most overlooked, faithful people to confound those who think they are wise. (1 Corinthians 1:27)

It’s never too late with God!

Will you draw close enough to the Lord to hear His voice? To recognize the coming of the Lord? Will you bear witness of Him to everyone you know?

2. Bloom Where You are Planted

The tribe Anna came from, Asher, was one of the “lost tribes” way in the north that Israel had lost track of over time, but God had been keeping track. In terms of culture, Anna was no one special, from nowhere special. Sound familiar? Do you ever feel that way?

And yet Anna, a nobody from nowhere, was one of the first witnesses to the promised Messiah! Many people toil in the Kingdom and wonder if their life is of any impact, especially when things are hard.

Pastors, evangelists, teachers, parents, friends, missionaries, prisoners and so many more everywhere in the world are working for the sake of the Gospel the Kingdom of God and no one will ever know their names.

This was Anna – except GOD knew exactly who she was and where she was.

Anna was right where He needed her, even if she didn’t know it herself.

Anna didn’t even have to leave her hometown to make a Kingdom impact! You don’t have to travel the world or get up on a stage or write a great book or start a cool podcast to impact the world. All you need is faithful service to the Lord.

Anna remained in the temple day and night and was able to bear witness within her sphere of influence even in her old age. She proclaimed hope for those lost in their waiting, and “all those who looked for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38) – to her peers, to those who knew her and had observed her all those long years, and to those who knew her testimony.

You don’t have to travel the world or get up on a stage or write a great book or start a cool podcast to impact the world. All you need is faithful service to the Lord.

~ Alicia Purdy ~

Maybe people dismissed Anna because she was old – but some didn’t. Some heard her. Some received the message of the Messiah. Some began to detach from the toxic traditional thinking and open their hearts to a new way.

It was because people had seen her authentic life firsthand that they listened to her words. People are watching you, too, even if you can’t see it. Because of how you live in faith, you are a living testimony to the power of God for another person who needs the Lord in their life.

You don’t have to look elsewhere, bloom and grow in Christ where you are planted and the seeds that fall from your growth and development will take root in the heart of another person.

3. Develop a Lifestyle of Praise to Walk in Power

When Anna realized that she was seeing the hand of God at work before her, that God had done what He said He’d do, that the miracle of the Messiah was present in her life, she worshipped! The three wise men also worshipped Jesus, although they didn’t really know what a “Messiah” was.

The reason Anna praised the Lord was because she had already been doing so, for all the years of her faithful service in obscurity in the temple.

The account in Luke 2:25-38 says:

“Coming at that moment, she gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of Him to all those who looked for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

In all things, during the waiting, during the wondering and during the witnessing of it all – continue to praise God!

A lifestyle of praise worship is a spiritual discipline that anyone can have. As you progress in your relationship with the Lord, He will show you more and more the closer you are to see it!

Thought for today: What Do You Have in Common with Anna in the Bible?

Maybe no one will ever know what you’ve done, but God does. Maybe no one will ever know your name, but God does. Maybe you feel obscure or overlooked or of no consequence, like you have no skill or usefulness, but God says otherwise.

You are important to the Kingdom You are, like Anna, of tremendous value and use right where you are. People are watching. They know your life and your testimony.

1. Anna had been watching and waiting on the Lord for His promise of a Messiah to be fulfilled.
2. Anna didn’t try to define how God would come through.
3. Anna worshipped the Lord as her first response to witnessing what God had done.

Paul wrote this in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31:

“For observe your calling, brothers. Among you, not many wise men according to the flesh, not many mighty men, and not many noble men were called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.

God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And God has chosen the base things of the world and things which are despised. Yes, and He chose things which did not exist to bring to nothing things that do, so that no flesh should boast in His presence. 

But because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, whom God made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.'”

Learn more about the 7 Hebrew Words for Praise and how each one helps create strength, intimacy, and fresh revelation as you understand more about God’s plan for praise in your life!

It was evangelist Dwight L. Moody who once said, “The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to Him.”

Remember:

“Whatever you do, do it heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. For you serve the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24)

When you witness a move of God, tell everyone around you, in your sphere of influence! Anna’s faithfulness to the Lord proved that God sees those who labor in secret. He sees you too, and you are still part of His eternal plan through Christ!

God Has Even Greater Things Planned for Your Life!