Reluctant Retiree

Yesterday I was walking through a grocery store when my shoe stuck on the tile and I fell to the ground. At first I felt pain in my elbow, but as we continued walking through the store, I began to feel pain in my hip and my knee. Now all of these pains were minor and no real damage appears to have been done, except to my fragile ego. Today promises to be different as our four year old granddaughter is coming to our house for the day. So today will involve playing and lots of laughter.

It occurs to me that life is a lot like these two days. Sometimes one thing after another goes wrong. But then there are times when everything seems to be going well.

Isaiah 25:8 says, “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.” I don’t know everything about heaven, but it is enough for me now to know that I will be with Jesus forever and their will be no more suffering or tears. When I go to be with Jesus, He will fulfill His promise to remove all suffering, pain, troubles, and tears. Instead, I will spend my days celebrating His presence and His love. All I can say is “Thank you, Jesus!” and all I know is how much I look forward to eternity with Him.

God calls us to love Him with understanding. To love with understanding casts off the things that harm the relationship like selfishness, lust, fear, worry, and anger. To love with understanding is to love with patience, kindness, mercy, grace and trust.

In Mark 12:33 Jesus tells us what is most important; “And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” To love God with understanding is to have insight and good judgement. Understanding defeats worry, fear, selfishness, lust, and anger. Loving God requires that we trust in His love for us and His goodness.

I am not talented or knowledgeable in anything mechanical. I cannot do household or automobile repairs. Whenever I try even the most simple task around the house, I need help. I need someone to come alongside me and offer advice as well as technical skill.

John 14:16-17 says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, who the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” To the believer God has given us the Holy Spirit to live within us and He is our Helper. When we try to do the job that the Helper does best and has come to do for us, we become anxious and filled with worry or fear. Our Helper eagerly desires to offer us the guidance and wisdom to do what we are setting out to do. Furthermore, when we trust the Helper we will bear fruit in good works.

We all are excited and happy when we receive something new. Who doesn’t love the smell of a new car and the pride of ownership. When we walk into our new house or apartment we are thrilled with the possibilities and look forward the new adventure of living someplace new. When we receive a gift, a smile comes from our faces and warm hearts fill our souls. New things bring expectation and instant joy.

Psalm 40:3 says, “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.” When we believe in Jesus and put our trust in Him, God makes us into a new creation in Christ. Our hearts are purified and our hands are cleansed from sin. Our thoughts and motivations are new and selfishness is removed. We have a brand new outlook on life. Let that new song reverberate in praise to God and others will also trust in Him.

In the midst of many home projects I have found out that I do not have all the supplies that I need. Then I have to make a quick run to the hardware store to get what I need. What is more frustrating are the times that I have to make multiple runs to the store to get supplies. Generally the stores have what I need so that I don’t have to go to many stores to find the right supplies.

II Corinthians 9:9-10 says, “As it is written, ‘He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’ He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” God abundantly supplies all that we will ever need to live in righteousness and bear fruit in good works. There is no store that we need to run to, everything we need is found in Him. It would behoove us to ask God to supply our needs before we begin to do any good work. His storehouse of blessings is always open to us.