Reluctant Retiree

We got in the car today, turned on the engine and the tire pressure light went on. No big deal. We just went around the block to a tire dealer and put air into the tires. Pretty mundane stuff.

That got me thinking about all the other ingredients that the car needs in order to run properly. It needs brake fluid to stop the car, gasoline to make it go, wiper fluid so you can see, coolant to keep it cool and warm, and oil to lubricate its parts so they don’t wear out.

We also need the proper ingredients to operate effectively. We need water for hydration and healthy foods to keep us strong. Now that I am older, I also need various medicines to keep various parts working well.

What about our hearts? Not the muscle. Our souls and spirit that make us who we are. What ingredients do they need to work properly? Psalm 50:10-12 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” So some of the essential ingredients for a well-working heart are a clean heart, a right spirit, God’s presence, the Holy Spirit, the joy of salvation, and a willing spirit. These enable us to live the life we were created for. God stands ready to provide these to us if we will only just ask.

When we lived in Nepal, I hated the suspension bridges for pedestrians. The heights, wind, and lengths of these bridges scared me. But oftentimes we would have to cross several of these bridges to get where we were going. Several times I would sit and pray before crossing. Prayer gave me a different perspective on the crossing. It refocused my attention away from the danger and onto the One who held me in His hands.

All of us can be subject to fears in different areas of our lives. We can have fears regarding health, security, future, relationships and many other things. Often our fears result from our desire to control our lives. When things seem to be out of our control, fear rises. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control.” To overcome fear we have to release control and turn the object of our fear over to God, pretty much like I was able to do on the suspension bridges.

As I watch sports, my observation is that the teams that are consistently successful are the teams that have high levels of teamwork. The players on these teams have bought into their roles and seek to handle their responsibilities as effectively as they can. They don’t try to do too much and communicate well with their teammates. They sublimate their personal goals to team objectives.

Successful businesses and other organizations work the same way. While people have personal needs for income and security met by their jobs, good employees understand that when they contribute to the company’s success, they contribute to their own success, as well.

God expects an even higher level of teamwork within his church, among believers. In fact Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) This new commandment requires a higher standard of love for Jesus’ disciples. The new standard for our love is the way Jesus loves us; abundantly, steadfastly, sacrificially, selflessly, and eternally.

Have you noticed that our desires often stay hidden, until they go unfulfilled? Then they come to the surface in anger, worry and frustration.

For instance we may have a desire for prestige. But when we do not get noticed we may lash out with belittling others or exaggerating our accomplishments.

Or we may have a desire for control. When something happens contrary to our desire we become angry at the offender.

We may also have a desire for comfort. When circumstances draw us out of our comfort zone we can begin to be anxious, fearful, and worried.

Desires can lead us away from where we really want to go. Instead of prestige we find slander. Instead of control we find anger. And instead of comfort we suffer worry. What can we do to subjigate these desires and go where we really want to go? Philippians 4:5-7 says, “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Several years ago I told a workmate that you know you are getting old when every time you get up something new hurts. In the past year and a half I have had brain surgery, a hospital stay for a blood clot, sinus surgery that was caused by the brain surgery, ear surgery, and heart ablation.

All this confirms not only my age, but also the fraility of the human body. It is simply not built to last an eternity. The good news is that God does promise to give those who believe in him an imperishable body. 2 Corinthians 5:4-5 says, “For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed, but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” After the last year, I am certainly looking forward to my imperishable eternal body.

Today, I drove through at a fast food restaurant and ordered a diet coke. After I drove away, I took a sip and discovered I had been given root beer. I was disappointed as I had my heart set on the diet coke.

In the grand scheme of things, this was a minor disappointment and I quickly got over it. Unfortunately life deals us much greater disappointments. Betrayals, lost opportunities, personal tragedies and broken relationships are some of the biggest disappointments we face.

We all need someone or something we can count on. This needs to be an unchangeable rock we can trust. Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Trust in God. He will not disappoint!

Have you ever experienced or felt something so intense that you could not adequately tell another person about it? We try though, don’t we? We grab the first person we see and say something like, “I gotta tell you what happened!” The words come out, but even as we are saying them, we realize that these words are inadequate and do not really describe how we felt. It’s odd that words can fail us at a time like that.

Words fail me when I try to talk about God’s love for me. I cannot properly describe how I feel about God’s abundant, steadfast and eternal love given freely to me. I did nothing to deserve it and can do nothing to earn it. It is completely his grace that brings me to this love. Psalm 36:5 says, “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.” His love is greater than anything you can see or imagine.

I lost my wallet today. Therefore I had to contact credit card companies, banks, and government offices to report the lost cards. Some of these contacts went easy and some not quite so smooth. One credit card company had an automated phone response system. So I faced a long series of menu choices that seemed to repeat themselves endlessly. On the other hand, another company let me do the same thing online with just a click of a button. Oddly, replacing my driver’s license was just as easy.

Isn’t it funny how we make communication so hard sometimes. We worry about personal reactions to the things we say and often stumble over words. We say one thing and the listener hears another.

Our communication with God is not so complicated. He has made it easy. Hebrews 10:19-22 says, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a pure heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Jesus provides the way to talk to a holy God.

Remember the days of paper maps and the Thompson’s Street Guide. You would pull out the street guide to determine how to get to a house or business you’d never gone to before. You would go to AAA to get state maps whenever you were taking a longer trip. My wife loved those things and watched them meticulously while we were driving. We had dozens of them in the car.

Nowadays, we have Google Maps or a Map program built right into the car. You don’t even have to watch the map, a voice tells you when to turn and how far until the next turn.

Wouldn’t it be great if we had a Google Decision program? We could put in the parameters of a decision we are facing. The program would then take us step-by-step through the twists and turns of making the best decisions. And we would arrive at the destination we desired healthy and wise.

Unfortunately there is no Google Decision program available to us, yet. But God does promise to provide us wisdom if we ask (James 1:5). He knows the best way for us to go and will instruct us in that way. In Psalm 32:8 God says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I wll cousel you with my eye upon you.” Go to God and listen for his voice. It is much better than Google Decision.

Occassionally we get to see or hear of goodness. A police officer pulled a man to safety after the man had driven into a lake. A child raises money to provide food or school supplies for less fortunate children. A woman visits elderly patients just to give them a friendly smile and a listening ear.

All these real acts of kindness not only bless the participants, but also encourage us. Kindness and goodness may be in short supply, but their effects multiply in benefits.

It has been said that God is good all the time. It is true that his purposes and plans are always for our good. Psalm 31:19 says, “Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!” God has a huge storehouse of goodness available to those who love him and serve his children.