A Closer Walk

Retirement as we think of it is never mentioned in the Bible. But labor and work are. “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, Till you return to the ground. Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return...therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken,” Genesis 3:17-19 and 23 NASB.
This coming Monday is Labor Day. The day our country has chosen to set aside as a national holiday to remember and celebrate the workers; the people that keep the country running and functioning. As mentioned above, retirement as we think of it is not mentioned in the Bible. But we all know that as we get older our energy level may decrease. While we can still do the things we always have, we might not be able to do as many of them; at least not all at the same time. Physically some of us have aches and pains and perhaps ailments or afflictions. Nevertheless, we can be assured that our God is not done with us. How can we know that? “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus,” Philippians 1:6 NASB. And secondly, because we are still here. That fact tells us that our Lord is not done with us yet. If He was we would be at our final destination. Remember, this earth is not our home, we are merely sojourners here. Merriam-Webster defines sojourn as: a temporary stay; to stay as a temporary resident. Synonyms: tarry, visit, stay.
Our God promises to bless the work of our hands. “The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you... And the LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow,” Deuteronomy 28:8 and 11-12 NASB.
Our Lord promises we will eat the fruit of our labor. “When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine Within your house, Your children like olive plants Around your table. Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the LORD,” Psalm 128:2-4 NASB. Our God enables us to eat the fruit of our own labor. And we will be happy to do that.
Our Lord promises that we will enjoy the fruit of our labor. “The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops,” 2 Timothy 2:6 NASB. “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen, that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?” Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 NASB. Him being God, of course.
The example of work we are given is the ant. “Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise. Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, Prepares her food in the summer, And gathers her provision in the harvest,” Proverbs 6:6-8 NASB. Even though the ant has no overseer or shepherd (boss or supervisor) she takes it upon herself to prepare her food in the summer when food is plentiful. And she gathers her provision during the harvest. In other words, the ant makes preparation for the future even though no one told her to do that nor supervised her along the way. And for the ant winter will come.
So retirement as we think of it is not mentioned in the Bible. However, our Lord has enabled those of us who are able to work. When we work we are rewarded with a paycheck so we are able to provide for ourselves and our families; and to make preparations for whatever our future might hold. And that future only the Lord our God knows about.
There is a song, which became an international pop hit in 1957 and 1958 by British singer Laurie London, called “He's Got the Whole World In His Hands.”
“He's got the whole world in his hands. He's got the whole world in his hands. He's got the whole world in his hands. He's got the whole world in his hands.” Each verse repeats the same lyrics four times. Second verse: “He's got the wind and the rain in His hands.” Third verse: “He's got the little tiny baby in His hands.” Fourth verse: “He's got you and me brother, in His hands.” Fifth verse: “He's got you and me sister, in His hands.” Sixth verse: “He's got everybody here, in His hands.”
So He has the whole world in His hands. That, of course, includes you, and me. “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me,” John 14:1 NASB. Jesus told us to not have troubled hearts. To believe in God, and to believe in Him. Why should we do that? Because He has the whole entire world in His hands!  Praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord!