If you know me at all, you’ll know that I am a planner. I
find security in knowing what to expect, feeling as though I have some control
over my/our future. I like to plan my work day, plan my grocery trips, plan for
the kids schedules, plan for our future, plan out the design of our house, plan
out our holidays and vacations and it goes on. And on. And on. The funny thing
about all that planning is that it makes me FEEL like I have control. But what
does God say about all my “plans” and my control? Proverbs 19:21 NIV “Many are
the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails”.
Clearly, I am not in the driver seat when it comes to this life. Reality is I
am a terrible and very annoying back
seat driver. I think God is probably quite often laughing and shaking his head
at my worrisome heart.
So where am I going with all this? Travis and I began a few
years ago PLANNING to move to Alaska. But that plan was solely revolving around
leaving Arizona AFTER Travis had put in his 20 years with DPS and was able to
officially “retire”. Because retirement is important to us. He worked for it.
He needed it. I needed it. Our family needed it. That is our security. OUR
future. Our plan. Our retirement.
Then things started to change in our hearts. We began to see
God moving the puzzle pieces of our life in a way that made us realize that
plan, our plan, is not HIS plan. Not HIS timing. That we were going to have to
give up our “retirement” that we have been clinging to – for so long – and
fully trust him. For our financial stability, our future, our family. We are
moving to Alaska now. Why? Because God is calling us and rather than sit on the sidelines
checking our watches and saying “Not yet God – we’re not ready yet”, we are
getting up and running toward that call.
Our church did a sermon recently on a Spirit of Mammon.
Prior to that service I had never heard “Mammon” discussed. It was specifically
referencing verse Matthew 6:24 which states “No one can serve two masters.
Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” You cannot.
Cannot. Cannot. The King James translation states “You cannot serve both God
and Mammon”. Pastor Ashley Wooldridge from CCV explained Mammon as more complex
than just “money”. Rather it’s the love, hope and trust in money, materials, etc. Placing our security in
material wealth. Uhh. Like a retirement? Like revolving our lives, our future
around receiving something that only man has promised us? Oops. We are failing
in our faith by allowing that to rule us. Rather we should be serving and
entrusting all hope and trust in God and God alone. Does that mean we become
poor financial stewards and give into reckless abandon? No – God’s very clear
about His requirement for us in that regard. But as far as where we as
individuals, husband and wife and as a family, have placed our hope – our trust
– our faith, it will no longer be in the State of Arizona retirement system. We
have decided to follow the lead of our God (who’s money it is anyway) and move
on to the life HE has planned for us.
This all makes me very nervous. Because I like to plan. And
its WAY way out of my comfort zone. So when I start to doubt, I go back to what
I KNOW is true.
#1 God will take care
of us. Why? Because he loves us. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV says “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,
"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a
future.” Notice that truth doesn’t include “to give you a hope and a future
with the State of Arizona retirement system”. Or “to make you wealthy beyond
your wildest dreams”. Or “to give you all the free income your heart desires”. He
will take care of us. Because he loves us. Matthew 6:26 affirms this by saying
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than
they?” When I start to feel nervous, I look at the birds. Even have them
tattooed on my wrist and remember that I don’t need to be storing away my hope
and trust in a barn – Christ is enough.
He is our plenty.
#2 Retirement is not a guarantee. Just like the social security system,
retirement is never a guarantee. Nothing in the future is. Our lives do not
come with promises of how many days we’ll have on this earth or that the
economy will succeed or that we’ll be financially secured in the future. Psalm
118:8 says “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in humans.”
Our system is flawed – created by man to serve man. And failed more often than
not. So why have we been placing our hope and trust there?
#3 Our days are numbered – I will serve,
live, love and enjoy every moment He has blessed me with. I think losing my brother was probably the
biggest reality check I have ever received thus far in life. He was gone in a
moment. I will never forget that phone call from my mom to tell me Logan was in
a fatal car accident. I was sitting on our bed writing a “Star Student of the
Week” letter to my oldest son, Braden’s class. That call interrupted my
writing and still to this day the letter is unfinished. Braden and I later on found
the letter and it made my heart hurt all over again to just remember, like
words abruptly on a page coming to an end without warning, so was his life. A
letter, a story unfinished. Or really is
it just not what I had PLANNED. Job 14:5 NLT says “You have decided the
length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not
given a minute longer.” Not a minute longer. So am I going to spend all my
minutes watching my clock, waiting to retire? Or am I going to embrace what God
has placed before us and live. Truly live and enjoy the time we have here on
earth to serve, live and love. I choose that. We choose Him over Mammon. We
choose faith in Christ over a retirement system. God has blessed us with new
opportunities and we are going to take a leap of faith to follow his call. It’s
going to be an adventure. And we are so excited.
Final thought: What’s
God calling in your life? An adventure? Giving up control in an area of your
life to Him and his purpose? Stepping out of your comfort zone? I would
encourage you to follow his lead. It will be the scariest and most rewarding
time of your life. Here’s the link to the sermon on Mammon if you’re
interested. Happy viewing and thanks for reading friends! Ya’ll better come
visit us up north!
http://www.palmvalley.org/portfolio_page/life-coach-week-2/
http://www.palmvalley.org/portfolio_page/life-coach-week-2/
