Part of the problem that I have with retirement is what I call the struggle for significance. I believe that God endows our hearts with a desire to be significant in some way. Many of us try to satisfy that desire with money, food, attention or fame, friends or lovers, and/or success. I am sure that you, like me, have tried or are trying one or more of these avenues. In retirement most of these avenues are no longer available to us.
The problem is that they never satisfy us anyway, even if we do achieve our goals. That’s because the only thing that will satisfy us is the one who created the desire, God. Now we may think that this some kind of cruel joke, but actually it is driven by His love for us.
You see, He created us out of His love and wants nothing more than for us to love Him in return. We can show Him that we love Him only by putting these other struggles behind us and put Him first. If we do that, He promises to give us a future of significance and hope.
Take a moment to consider what this means for you and how you should respond to His love for you.
“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 ESV
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
Reluctant Retiree 