Reluctant Retiree

As I go about my days, my experience is sometimes like a roller coaster. Some things will make me happy. Other things will make me unhappy. I can be patient at times and quickly angry at others. Sometimes I am filled with compassion and sometimes I ignore the needs of those around me. I should not be this way.

God has a higher purpose for me. I Thessalonians 5:16-19 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.” My life does not measure up well to those commands.

How can someone as weak as me expect to do those things? The answer is in the last command; do not quench the Spirit. If I am trusting God and relying on His power in the Holy Spirit, then I will rejoice, pray and give thanks always. I can’t do it in my own strength, but God is able to do it through me in His power.

I have worn hearing aids for two decades now. I don’t mind wearing them, but they don’t always work. Like anything else, they can malfunction or just wear out. For months now I have not been able to hear well, even when I am wearing the hearing aids. It got so bad that I stopped wearing them for several days. Today I was able to finally see the audiologist. She fixed them right away and I can hear much better.

Jesus often accused the Jewish leaders and Pharisees of having ears but being unable to hear. He was saying that they had hardened their own hearts so much that they could not hear what God had to say to them. Hearing aids would not help them. They needed a change of heart.

How can we be sure that we have not hardened our hearts in the same way? Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” We increase our ability to hear God through studying His Word. Spending time in God’s Word and digesting its truth is necessary to hearing God speak to us. Try it out. Read through a book of the Bible and think about what you have read. See if you can hear God speak to you.

Today our granddaughter displayed a sudden fear of lawnmowers. The landscaping company was at work today in the complex we live in. When the man on the riding mower came by our home, our granddaughter ran into grandma’s arms and buried her head. To us, this was a sudden fear not previously displayed. We don’t know where it came from.

Some of our fears are reasonable. We’ve had a disastrous event associated with something we now fear. Or perhaps we have experienced failure or hurt over a long period of time with something we now fear. However, some of our fears can be unreasonable. These fears have no basis in experience or logic. Yet, these fears are still very real and controlling.

God says that we can master our fears. II Timothy 1:7 says, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” You see, these three qualities of love, power and self-control overcome fears of any type. God promises to give us these qualities, through His Holy Spirit, if we will trust Him. In I John 4:18 God goes on to say, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” God promises to remove and destroy our fears through the love that we can share with Him.

Last Saturday we went to our grandson’s baseball game. It was the hottest day of the year thus far. There was no shade, so we sat and baked in the sun. When we got to the car after the game,the car’s thermometer said it was 105 degrees. I couldn’t even get cooled down the rest of the day. I felt terrible.

Life can turn up the heat on us as well. Health issues, relationship struggles, financial difficulties, and job concerns seem to come in waves. We feel the pressure and can’t find a respite. Where can we go to find relief?

Psalm 121 gives us many promises for us to hold onto in these situations. “I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.”

Did you catch the promises? God will be your shade when things heat up. He will protect you from evil forever. And He is vigilant as He never sleeps. You can trust Him when troubles come as He has unlimited power to do so. He promises to help you when you call.

Despair is the result of lost hope. Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” We’ve all been to places where people have lost hope. Perhaps we have even experienced this loss ourselves. The loss of hope can be read on faces reflecting the despair. It is difficult to recover from this devastating situation.

What encouragement can we offer to others and ourselves at times like these? Practical help provides some encouragement. We have known this to be true, as we have been privileged to help people devastated by natural disasters. We have seen how the loss of personal items and property can hurt and confuse people. But help in recovery can begin to restore hope.

But sometimes just the daily grind of life with its troubles can cause people to lose hope. It is difficult to see light when problems block your view.

Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Our God is the God of hope. He offers to fill us with joy and peace, and hope, even in the most difficult circumstances. He will lift us up so that we can see light. Problems will still come, but we can still have hope that God will carry us to the other side. This hope is not some vague dream, but the confident expectation that God will fulfill His promises to us.