Reluctant Retiree

Who can we believe? Politicians promise and don’t deliver. Salesmen promise but include all sorts of conditional promises. Businesses promise but are more concerned with their bottom line than truth and fulfillment. The weather man promises but cannot truly predict with confidence. Friends and family promise but relationships still falter.

Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” God fulfills His promises. He always speaks the truth and will never change His mind. Search for His promises in Scripture and believe that God will do this words for you.

Jesus starts His famous Sermon on the Mount by describing the people whom God blesses. These people are “poor in spirit, mourners, meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, and peacemakers”. If we were to put together a list of blessed people we would say things like they are strong, powerful, rich, gifted, leaders, good looking, with superstar talents. But God is opposed to the proud and blesses the humble.

Romans 12:3 says, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” Anything good in us: that is our abilities, talents, wisdom, etc.: is given by God. So let’s have a humble attitude about them. God will abundantly bless us when our attitudes are right and match up to what He desires, not what the world admires.

Where do you put your valuables for safekeeping? Do you use a safe deposit box or a house safe? Or are you perhaps less fearful and more confident in your own ways of protecting your possessions. Do you, however, have the same degree of safekeeping for the nonmaterial things that are important to you? For instance, are you confident and secure in the ways that you are guarding your health? Have you done enough to protect your family? How we secure the things, speaks volumes about what is important to us.

Paul wrote in II Timothy 1:12, “But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.” Paul had the utmost confidence that God was able to safekeep his life, his ministry, his safety, and his heart. God’s hands are mighty. Nothing has ever slipped through His hands once He has taken possession of it. And nobody nor anything can take something out of His hands. He is fully trustworthy. So we can trust Him with our lives, our hopes, our possessions, our families, and our salvation. He is able to guard all these things and more.

If you are like me, sometimes you lack confidence and sometimes you overestimate your abilities. Whether the task comes from the job, at home, some volunteer opportunity, or in a relationship, we all fail to correctly evaluate our abilities at times.

In Judges 6:12 an angel of the Lord speaks to Gideon. The angel has found Gideon hiding from the enemy in a winepress and says, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” Now, Gideon hardly had the posture of a mighty man of valor. Nevertheless, the Lord had chosen Gideon to lead the army against the enemy. The key point, however, was the statement that the “Lord is with you”.

God chose Gideon for a difficult task, fighting against an overwhelming enemy. But God was equipping Gideon and would provide the power to defeat the enemy. The same is true for us today. God calls us to do His work, but at the same time, He equips us and provides the power to do the work. If we attempt to do the work apart from His power, we will fail and not bear fruit. With His strength working in and through us, we are the most powerful people on earth.

When God calls you to do His work, take courage in knowing that you are His child. In His name and for His glory He will empower you to do His work.

I don’t particularly care for driving long distances. For me, it is physically uncomfortable. For most people, it is difficult to maintain the alertness required for a long period of time. Our minds wander and our bodies tire. But we must maintain a high level of alertness to avoid the dangers inherit in this type of travel. Alertness can also serve us well as we see the wonderful sights that come our way in our travels.

Ephesians 6:18 says, “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”

As we go about our daily lives, we should persevere in alertness to identify the good things God wants us to do and to avoid the bad things that tempt us away from Him. How? By praying at all times. Having an attitude of prayer throughout the day keeps us in the presence of God and alert to His leadings. Prayer also makes us alert to the opportunities that He gives us each day to do good for others and honor Him. As we are following His leading daily, we are also alert to the temptations that try to attract us, but, in His presence and by His power, we are able to resist