Reluctant Retiree

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” Psalm 127:3

God formed you and created you to be a gift, a reward to your parents. More than that even, He created you as a gift to Himself. With all of the idiosyncrasies and failures that we develop, God put into us the attributes that we would need to be a blessing to others and a praise to God.

“Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.” Psalm 127:4

Arrows are designed to move swiftly and directly to a target. We also were created by God to move swiftly and directly toward a target, becoming like Jesus and serving His purposes. We must not let the whims of worldly influence affect our path to the target. Let’s get back on the direct path to the purposes for which the Creator designed us.

After freeing His people from slavery, God led them on a forty year journey through the wilderness. They were hungry and God fed them with bread and meat that they did not work to produce. They became thirsty and God satisfied their thirst with water from a rock. They were weak, but God made them strong through the trials of the wilderness. They were attacked, but God gave them victory over their enemies.

Now they were about to enter the Promised Land. They would face more enemies and troubles. So God gave them a message of encouragement written for us in Joshua 1:9; “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Like God’s people, we will surely face troubles and even opposition. The time to gather strength is before the trouble comes. God told the people to be strong and courageous, but not to trust in their own strength, but rather to rely on God’s strength as He would be with them. We must get to know God’s power and wisdom before trouble comes. We must let Him shape us as He did His people in the wilderness. Then we will have the strength to endure struggles and become strong and courageous.

Imagine you have been invited to a formal dinner at the White House. Several national and international leaders, along with celebrities, will also come. Assuming you accept the invitation, how will you prepare for the event? You may read about the invitees and their current projects, so you can be somewhat conversant. You will likely buy new clothes and maybe get a haircut or your hair styled. And you will surely wash thoroughly and brush your teeth to put the final touches on your appearance.

God has invited all of us to appear before His throne in prayer. This is a great honor, even more so than going to a state dinner at the White House. We will be appearing before Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. However, we must be properly prepared before going before Him.

Hebrews 10:21-22 gives us instructions for appearance before God when it says, “and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” When appearing before God, we must only go with Jesus Christ, our great high priest. We will not be allowed to enter without Jesus. Then we must have faith that God is willing for us to come and able to do what we ask. Our hearts must be true and pure, which only happens when we confess our sins and we trust in the blood of Jesus to cover our sins in forgiveness. Now we are ready to come before God, and we can have full assurance that He will accept us.

Yesterday was cold, but clear and dry. I woke up this morning to over 2 inches of snow on the ground. As I hiked this morning I was struck by the rather quick transformation of the landscape. From the vibrant colors of yesterday, the landscape had turned almost completely white. The full color pictures that I took this morning look like black and white photos.

Most of us would like to experience at least a partial transformation in our lives. We all have flaws that we would like to remove. We also see attributes in others that we would welcome in our lives. We try to make changes, but our efforts fail and we become frustrated.

Romans 12:2 gives us the key to life transformation when it says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” You want to change your life? Then you must change your thoughts. We become like the things we think about. Thinking about worldly things leads us to become deceitful, greedy, and lustful. However, thinking about the things of God will lead us into godliness, integrity, and love. We can experience real change by asking God to change our thoughts, which will change our attitudes, which will transform our behaviors.

“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear,O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

This is a God whom I can trust. This is a God worthy of worship. This is a God whose ways are perfect. This is the only true God. He is the Lord Almighty!