Now Moses was 80 years old and Aaron 83 years old when they spoke to Pharaoh. – Exodus 7:7, Amplified Bible

David opened a service station in the 1930s in Corbin, KY. In addition to selling gasoline, David cooked and sold a wide variety of tasty meals to many of the patrons that visited his store. The food service portion of his business grew dramatically, and David eventually opened a 142-seat restaurant in a local motel.

David’s business did well until Interstate 75 was constructed. When traffic was diverted to the new road, David’s business failed. He retired at age 65, with only his monthly Social Security check of $105 to live on.

Unsatisfied with such conditions, David traveled across the United States, cooking his signature dish for restauranteurs across the land. Restauranteurs that liked the dish agreed to pay David a royalty fee for the use of his recipe. Soon, David had a network of franchisees across both the United States and Canada, and in 1964 he sold his growing company for $2 million ($14.8 million in 2012 dollars). He remained active until his death in 1980 at the age of 90.

You might know David better as Colonel Harland David Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

There will be decisions you make in life that, unfortunately, will shut a door of opportunity that God has placed before you. Once that opportunity is gone, there is a good chance God won’t give it to you again. However, that doesn’t mean God will never use you again. God can use you at any age and in any condition if you simply will be willing to be used of Him.

Colonel Sanders did not start his successful KFC journey until he was 65 years of age. Similarly, Moses did not start his successful journey as God’s friend and messenger until he was 80. Moses had made a decision in his life – the slaying of the Egyptian in Exodus 2:12 – that cost him roughly 40 years in the land of Midian. What could Moses have accomplished for the Lord in Egypt during those 40 years had he not chosen to act in his own power? We will never know. We do know, however, that God used Moses in a tremendous way, and He did not begin doing so until Moses, who lived to be 120 years old, had already lived two-thirds of his life.

Look at your past and learn from it, but don’t fret over lost opportunities to serve your Savior. No matter what stage of life you are in, God can indeed use you in a mighty way. Just be sure that when the next opportunity comes, you don’t pass it up.