Are You Where You Thought You Would Be?

This September I will turn fifty. Hard to believe. In my mind I feel like a young man. I do not see myself as middle aged. My body tells me differently. The weight room is increasingly challenging and the strength is waning. Any amount of running is not enjoyable. Yet I still keep showing up trying to defy time a little longer.

When I look back over nearly five decades of life I ask myself the question," Am I where I thought I would be at this point?"  I thought I would be married to the women I share life with. We celebrate twenty-five years of marriage next month. I thought I would have kids. I never thought I would have four and they all be boys. Each is a blessing to me. I thought I would be a pastor but in a much larger church at this point. God has been faithful in churches I have served of all sizes.

I thought at this stage of life it would all be easier. There are still challenges at fifty just like there were at sixteen, twenty, thirty and so on. People older than me have challenges. I hear them all the time. I hear people talk about battling things like cancer, joint damage and replacements, pricy medication, fixed incomes and I think there are challenges yet to come.

Are you where you thought you would be? Did your life turn out like you dreamed it would? Did you marry the right one? Did the marriage last? Are you in a career you love? Do you live in your dream house? Are you still friends with your childhood chums?

I bet most of us would say life has had several twists and turns along the way we never saw coming. We did not anticipate the challenges. A friend of mine lives in Florida and woerks on a golf course during the morning. In the afternoons he  plays as much golf as he wants and fishes on the weekends in his retirement years. Someone told him recently, "You are living the dream." He replied, "I'm living half of it." You see, his wife died of brain cancer right before his official retirement. They had planned on moving to Florida and building a house. They had great plans. He did not anticipate living his twilight years with out his soul mate. Still he says, "God has been good to me."

Maybe you are not where you thought you would be or sharing life with who you thought you would. This is a good time to stop and reflect. Can you say God has been good to you?

Paul also encountered some challenges not anticipated. Beatings, Whippings, Stoning. Imprisonment. Matthew 25:34-46 (NASB) 
³⁴  "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
³⁵  'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
³⁶  naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
³⁷  "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
³⁸  'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
³⁹  'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
⁴⁰  "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
⁴¹  "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
⁴²  for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
⁴³  I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
⁴⁴  "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
⁴⁵  "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'
⁴⁶  "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Still ,after all this, Paul could write this truth that challenges me and comforts me today. Philippians 4:11-13 (NASB) 

¹¹  Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
¹²  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
¹³  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Christ strengthening me has little to do with what I can lift in the gym as much as it does how I can  persevere through the challenges of life. It has everything to do with how I face life's disappointments when things do not turn out the way I planned or hoped. Jesus is still the source of contentment. Jesus is still the source of hope. He is still the source of peace in the middle chaotic circumstances. He is still provider. 

Even if we are not where we thought we would be we are not forgotten by God. He sees. His arm is long enough to reach us there. His voice is loud enough to penetrate our pain and doubts. His love is deep enough to hold us in the tough times. His grace is sufficient to forgive us for sin. His strength is mighty enough to move every mountain. His salvation is secure enough to keep me to the end of life. I content myself in those things today.