Recalculating ... recalculating

Remember the old global positioning system (GPS) units that constantly reminded us when we made a wrong turn? People found it so annoying that in 2012 Garmin reprogrammed their new units to remain silent while we blissfully strayed from the recommended route.

Are You Recalculating Your Route?

The upheaval brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has forced us to do some recalculating. I hope none of us go through these hassles without serious reflection. Otherwise, we will waste the opportunity to leverage this inconvenience and turmoil as a time for us to mature in faith and wisdom. Each person’s story is unique, and I'll share mine.

I started this year watching the financial markets and thought to myself, “I’m in a strong position as I look towards retirement a few years down the road." While I may not have “loved money,” for that kind of misplaced affection is at the root of evil, I certainly had unbridled confidence in America’s robust economy.

Then the pandemic hit, and the world financial markets were wracked with fear, volatility, and decline. Soon I stopped paying attention to the financial news because it was only bad. And then, as the Holy Spirit often does, a familiar Scripture passage was brought to mind.

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil"  (James 4:13 - 16 ESV).

Here are some of the lessons I learned (or relearned) as I meditated on this passage.

God Is the Sovereign Superintendent of History

I have no clue what will happen tomorrow. This prompts me to trust God more and to humbly seek his will as I make my plans. I will continue to plan and invest, but my reliance on our country’s economic security has taken a real beating.

We're Called to Be Humble

How humbling for humanity to have a virus from a food market in central China literally shut down the world's richest, most powerful nations in less than three months. This unforeseen event helps us truly understand James's teaching. "What is your life? You are a mist..." Earlier James quotes from Proverbs, "... God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6 ESV).

We Need to Reflect and Refocus

I don't particularly like James 4:16 with its references to boasting, arrogant schemes, and evil. I like to think of myself as humble, hardworking, and doing the next right thing. But there is a lurking danger when I focus on my plans, my desires, and my goals. If I decide everything and then ask God to bless my endeavors, I'm giving God a secondary role in the script I am writing.

Now, after the humbling rebuke of the COVID-19 crisis, I say, “If the Lord wills, I plan to continue in full-time ministry and then retire around 2025." My anticipated retirement will not be an endless vacation, but rather a reapportionment of my calendar to seek God’s glory in new and exciting pursuits. And, I am confident that my heavenly Father will provide for all my future needs just as he has done in the previous six and a half decades, which is, by the way, just a mist.

Stay hopeful, healthy, and humble.