6 Cycles of a Family Do not put me out to pasture when the nest is empty

6 Cycles of a Family

Do not put me out to pasture when the nest is empty

Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me,

O God, till I declare your power to the next generation,

Your might to all who are to come. Psalm 71:18

When our children leave the nest to start

families of their own, the nest is not empty.

The house may be quiet and the speed of life slow.

Yet, the most valuable treasures is in the empty nest.

God’s greatest resource in the earth is the seniors.

Whether you acknowledge God or not

He has been working in your life.

Every experience you have had in life, trouble or

joy, God has planned it to work for your good.

Experience only comes with time.

    

Time your children and grandchildren have not had.

The next generation needs to build off

the wealth of the generations before them.

I have met many seniors who feel like

they failed when the nest was full.

These same people as seniors have become

powerful positive influences to the next generation.

They become the ones Jesus said their sins are many and
have been forgiven much as a result have great love.

But the one who have been

forgiven little, loves little.

  

Solomon saw himself growing older.

He feared God and others would

put him out to pasture.

In Psalms 71, Solomon

pleads his case before God.

 “Do not cast me away when I am old;

do not forsake me when my strength is gone.”

“But as for me, I will always have hope”

Hope…it is what keeps us alive.

Seniors, who put their hope

in God, give hope to the youth.

“I will praise you more and more.”

Solomon is not talking about singing songs

he is saying his speech and action will

constantly be revealing the goodness of God.

“My mouth will tell of your righteousness,

 of your salvation all day long,

though I know not its measure.”

Solomon does not claim to know it all, his

experiences of God’s righteousness and salvation

is enough to make him secure in the unknown.

“I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord;

 I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone. Since my youth,

 O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.”

Solomon realized there was not a time in his life

that God had not been at work in him and around him.

Every event in his life he saw the

fingerprints of God all over them.

So often when we are in the mists of life’s

 struggles we cannot see the hand of God but

later as time passes we see His fingerprints.

Solomon is passionate about staying active

and making a difference in his old age.

“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me,

O God, till I declare your power to the next generation,

your might to all who are to come.”

The Bible is just words until it becomes alive in you.

One of the reasons the Bible is so powerful is God

recorded stories of lives just like yours to reveal His truth.

 When you speak as a youth, you speak with options.

When you speak as a senior, you speak with authority.

Have a passion that says…

 

“I declare your power to the next generation,

your might to all who are to come.”

Because the next generation is priceless, like you.

There are 6 cycles for a family to navigate 

“Cycles of family life”

The marriage

Bearing children

Raising children

The empty nest / launching new family

The declining years

Death in the marriage

Family cycles should be a great experience for the whole family

Scripture Reading

Psalm71 NIV

71 In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. 2 Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me. 3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4 Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men.

5 For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. 6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you. 7 I have become like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. 8 My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.

9 Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.

10 For my enemies speak against me; those who wait to kill me conspire together. 11 They say, "God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for no one will rescue him." 12 Be not far from me, O God; come quickly, O my God, to help me. 13 May my accusers perish in shame; may those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace.

14 But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. 15 My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. 16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone. 17 Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

18 Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.

19 Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, you who have done great things. Who, O God, is like you? 20 Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. 21 You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.

22 I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. 23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you — I, whom you have redeemed. 24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long, for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion.   Of Solomon.