Reluctant Retiree

I was first diagnosed with diabetes seven years ago. Immediately I was sent to a nutrition doctor. The doctor rightly told me about nutritional changes that would help me lower my blood sugar. In my stubbornness, I told her that I could make some small changes to my diet but that I was not willing to make the wholesale alterations she suggested. She patiently listened and told me to do what I could do.

So I made some small changes while still enjoying many of the foods I liked. Maybe four months later I had a follow up appointment with the doctor. My A1C had gone from 8.7 to 7.1, much better but still too high. I had also lost 20 pounds. The doctor was pleased and I was ecstatic.

Encouraged by these results, I made more changes by finding foods that were both healthy for me and that I enjoyed eating. I also took up a daily walking program, which I found that I enjoy as well. My A1C now hovers around 5.7 and I have lost over 100 pounds since that first meeting.

What accounts for such a dramatic change? First I had to admit that I lacked self-control. Then I had to accept the necessary help from the doctor. Then I had to ask God to give me self-control in my eating habits and exercise. The last thing I wanted to do was limit myself in the foods I ate. In my unhealthy state, I also didn’t want to exercise. Telling myself to do healthy things wasn’t going to be enough. I needed God to work on my attitudes and feelings. He gave me self-control, improving my health and outlook.

Titus 2:11-12 says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.”

I am usually thinking ahead. My thoughts take me down the path that I expect to take, a path that I think I control. Somehow I rarely see the unexpected U-Turn or sudden right turn just ahead. Suddenly things seem out of control. Fortunately, they are only out of my control. God is still in control of all my circumstances. So it is best if I just obey God’s Yield sign on life’s journey.

In the Bible, the disciples, Peter and Andrew, experienced these truths and it changed their lives. They had not yet met Jesus and were involved in their business of fishing. Suddenly Jesus came up to them: “And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

Jesus spoke to them and they followed him. Their lives changed in that moment. Instead of spending their lives on the sea, they invested their lives in following Jesus while serving others. They wound up going far and wide speaking of God’s forgiveness and love. Countless people believed and their lives also were dramatically changed. Peter and Andrew went from having a small impact upon others as fishermen, to men of God who impacted the whole world.

God wants to do the same thing with you. He is calling your name right now and asking you to follow Him. He wants you to immediately drop what you are doing and obey Him. Give up control of your life to the One who controls all things. You won’t regret it and He will use you to change the world around you.

Isn’t it great when you have a coupon to buy something you want at a reduced price? The best coupons are the ones that allow you to receive something free. In these cases, the full price is paid by someone else, while you receive the benefits of the purchase. An exchange takes place, but you are not liable for the purchase amount.

Getting a coupon to receive something for free is great, but a far more wonderful redemption has taken place. Through Jesus death on the cross, God has provided redemption to those who trust in Jesus. This redemption removes our sins and grants to us salvation. We can be redeemed from slavery to sin and receive a life of freedom. We can be redeemed from the pit of desperation and placed on the rock of hope. We can be redeemed from our old selfish ways to a new life of selflessness.

Isaiah 44:22 says, “I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.” Take advantage of God’s offer and receive redemption. A greater offer cannot be found and it is freely given by God. Jesus has already paid the full price for your redemption.

Years ago we went to San Francisco for vacation. We visited a certain store and watched them make salt water taffy, one of my wife’s favorite candies. They mixed the ingredients and then stretched the taffy across two arms of a machine. Once the machine started, the arms stretched and pulled the taffy for a long time, until it was thoroughly mixed and softened. Then we purchased some taffy and snacked.

It would be silly for the taffy to resist the pulling and stretching. These processes are necessary for the taffy to fulfill its purpose, being the desirable candy that the maker intended. If the candy refused the process, it would stay hard and useless.

Life can make us feel like salt water taffy. We often feel like we are pulled and stretched in so many ways. The process is painful. We can resist the things that God is doing in our lives, but it only leads to more suffering. However if we yield to the process, we grow into the people God intended. It is then that we fulfill the purpose for which He created us.

Psalm 95:6-7 says, “For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” So when God calls your name today, be patient in the process of pulling and stretching. He has something great in mind for you.

We’ve all been there. The problems pile up so much that we can’t see the top of the pile. In fact, we are under the pile. It becomes so overwhelming that we have no idea where to start. At the same time we are liable to think that no one cares about our troubles or even about us. How could they? They don’t even know about the problems driving us into a downward spiral.

It is awful to think that no one cares about you. When we are in this state we often don’t even want to talk about it, which drives us deeper into despair.

Psalm 94:17-19 says, “If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, ‘My foot slips,’ your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” The writer is experiencing exactly what I described above. His problems are overwhelming and he thinks he may die. But then, he turns to God. God responds immediately with, help, love, security, and consolations.

You and I can expect the same reaction from God when we bring our troubles to Him. He will respond to each of His children with help, love, security, and appropriate consolations. Never think that God does not know about your problems. He knows. He cares. And He will bring you help and consolations.