Good morning!
Planning - even in retirement, I feel the need to look ahead and plan. I am OCD when it comes to having routines - I feel less likely to forget things. One of the times of day I love my routine or have a set plan for is right after i wake up in the morning.
I normally use my time in the morning to reflect, to pray, hopefully to get aligned with Christ. Sometimes, even in the early morning, things happen to take me out of that routine. Sometimes my best laid plans for starting my day are derailed, my perfect routine is fully disrupted.
Has or does this ever happened to you?
This can be very unsettling. You can look at these “plan / routine interruptions” in a couple of ways. One is to let this kind of unexpected set of events frustrate us, throwing of our whole day – ending up being misaligned with Christ.
Or we can take look to these pieces of scripture below. God shares with us through these pieces of scripture that however our day starts or how it unfolds, whatever we are doing, to do it with our whole heart for God, for Jesus Christ. That sometimes our plans are not God’s plan – that he will establish our steps.
Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Proverbs 16:9, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
It is an opportunity to put Him first. To use the situation as prayer, worship and proper reflection on why we are here doing this work. Because we have been called by Jesus Christ to serve, in love.
It is an opportunity to trust God and be obedient to God in what is unfolding and happening in that moment which is unexpected and unsettling.
These situations should not be a big deal. Before retirement, they happen for me somewhat often. But when I would think about those I was serving because of the disruption of my routine, about who at that time needed access or something else to do their job, it was really important that I do my work with my whole heart, for our Lord, Jesus Christ and for whoever I was serving. To accept the steps God has established for that moment and that day.
The same is true in retirement - God's purposes and plans supersede my routines, desires for order, my OCD. And that means surrendering my desires for a certain way of doing and planning things to Him, and following the path He has for me.
Lord Jesus, my prayer going into the weekend is that we treat each situation that has the potential to frustrate us as an opportunity to pray, to be obedient, to align with our Savior, Jesus Christ, committing our whole heart to a positive and love filled approach forward, shining His light! Amen!
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Patrick
Planning - even in retirement, I feel the need to look ahead and plan. I am OCD when it comes to having routines - I feel less likely to forget things. One of the times of day I love my routine or have a set plan for is right after i wake up in the morning.
I normally use my time in the morning to reflect, to pray, hopefully to get aligned with Christ. Sometimes, even in the early morning, things happen to take me out of that routine. Sometimes my best laid plans for starting my day are derailed, my perfect routine is fully disrupted.
Has or does this ever happened to you?
This can be very unsettling. You can look at these “plan / routine interruptions” in a couple of ways. One is to let this kind of unexpected set of events frustrate us, throwing of our whole day – ending up being misaligned with Christ.
Or we can take look to these pieces of scripture below. God shares with us through these pieces of scripture that however our day starts or how it unfolds, whatever we are doing, to do it with our whole heart for God, for Jesus Christ. That sometimes our plans are not God’s plan – that he will establish our steps.
Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Proverbs 16:9, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
It is an opportunity to put Him first. To use the situation as prayer, worship and proper reflection on why we are here doing this work. Because we have been called by Jesus Christ to serve, in love.
It is an opportunity to trust God and be obedient to God in what is unfolding and happening in that moment which is unexpected and unsettling.
These situations should not be a big deal. Before retirement, they happen for me somewhat often. But when I would think about those I was serving because of the disruption of my routine, about who at that time needed access or something else to do their job, it was really important that I do my work with my whole heart, for our Lord, Jesus Christ and for whoever I was serving. To accept the steps God has established for that moment and that day.
The same is true in retirement - God's purposes and plans supersede my routines, desires for order, my OCD. And that means surrendering my desires for a certain way of doing and planning things to Him, and following the path He has for me.
Lord Jesus, my prayer going into the weekend is that we treat each situation that has the potential to frustrate us as an opportunity to pray, to be obedient, to align with our Savior, Jesus Christ, committing our whole heart to a positive and love filled approach forward, shining His light! Amen!
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Patrick
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