Reluctant Retiree

All of us are people of faith, whether we want to believe it or not. We exercise faith all the time without thinking about it. We confidently sit on a chair believing in the craftsman who made it. When we drive down the highway, we trust in the other drivers to obey the laws. Almost every situation we face requires that we exercise faith. You may say that these situations are based upon knowledge rather than faith. But I say that this knowledge only serves to increase our faith that things will occur as we expect.

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples and  said, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”  (Luke 24:36-38, ESV) Our response to troubles reveals our faith. Knowing Jesus and His promises better will increase our faith. Observing the power and love of God increases our knowledge of Him and therby increases our faith in what we can expect from Him. Knowing His promises spoken in His Word allays our fears and doubts.

In the past couple years we learned the importance of the supply chain. When it is broken or bogged down, we either don’t get the goods that we need or we have to pay more for them. Wouldn’t it be great if whenever we needed anything, we could walk into a store and get it at a reasonable price, because we know that the supply room in the back always has an ample supply of what we want? That is not going to happen, but it would be nice.

Ephesians 2:6-7 says that God “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” The one who trusts God already has all the authority that they will ever need to have victory over every struggle, because God has raised them up to the heavenly places with Jesus. While the authority does not rest within the believer it is always available to them by simply asking Jesus, who is seated with them. And the one who trusts God has all the kindnesses they will ever need because He is kind to them according to His immeasurable grace. God is always kind and He will never exhaust His kindnesses toward believers because He possesses immeasurable riches of grace.

According to Google, patience is the “capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset”. In the Bible, this quality is often regarding relationships with people and God. I struggle with the ability to be patient consistently. When I feel like someone is making another person suffer, especially if that person is me, I often begin to get angry. Most of the time my impatience is internalized only, but sometimes I will lash out. Patience means bearing with the perceived faults of others and desiring to help them rather than get angry with them.

Romans 2:4 says, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” Thank God that He is patient with us, meaning that He tolerates our delays in obedience, the trouble we cause, and suffers our rebellions without getting angry. How fearsome it would be if we did not know that God is patient with us! How awful it would be if we felt that every time we messed up, God retaliated in some way! But God understands our struggles and weaknesses and His desire is that we return to Him and allow Him to build righteousness in us.

We all know what it takes to win, or at least what some winners say it takes to win. You have to practice and put in the effort. You need to want it more than your opponents and work harder than them. You will need a strong competitive desire. All these things sound right to us and make great slogans. They may even ensure victory on the athletic field. But life sends different struggles our way and simply working hard doesn’t always make us victorious.

Romans 8:37 says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Love wins. God’s love makes us victors over every form of struggle we face. In His love He provides us what is needed to pass through the struggles to the other side, making us more than conquerors, by persevering and becoming more godly. He grants us the true believer the ultimate victory when we pass through this life into the heavens and before His glorious presence. Hard work is good, but I will take the steadfast love of God with its certain victory.

“You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:7-8

Joy is hard to find. We seek it in a million different ways and places, but rarely experience it for sustained periods of time. Could it be that we are looking in the wrong places?

Peace is even harder to find. Conflicts and anxiety fill the landscape and our lives. Just as we find a little calm, some other problem pops up and consumes our thoughts and energies. Is it possible to find peace in a world of conflicts?

God promises to give us both joy and peace. He gives us joy in the power of His presence and in His salvation. Our eternity is set and our daily walk is covered in His steadfast love. He gives us peace as we rest in His protection, knowing that He is able to keep us safe into eternity. The one who trusts in God will find exuberant joy and restful peace throughout their days.