Or refirement! On our search for “Meaning”
Bob Buford in his book, Finishing Well.
Let’s Do Lunch
Visualize this. You and I are having lunch at your favorite place. It’s comfortable, a good place for going to talk. You’ve come to a point in your life where you’re asking. What now? What’s next? You feel a new season in the air. Thinking about retirement. It might be that you have recently lost a spouse. I have. Naomi. She’s with the Lord in Heaven now. That’s another story.
Or you may be approaching retirement or in early retirement…have you discerned what the Lord may be calling you to do…
Do you want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant”? What does that mean to you?
We all want to finish life well. What does that mean to you?
If you are with someone…just ask:
We are all in different seasons of life.
Do you have a dream? Tim Collins calls it a BHAG-“Big Hairy audacious Goal’
What causes you to get up each morning with renewed enthusiasm for the day?
Do you have a vision from the Lord for your retirement?
Using your gifts, strengths and abilities for the Lord?
A good book on this subject is Visioneering by Andy Stanley.
Andy states that “Visioneering is the course one follows to make dreams a reality. It is the process whereby ideas and convictions take on substance.” As Christians we want to honor God in all we do. Andy further states, “Honoring God involves discovering his picture or vision of what our lives could and should be.” He further states that “missing out on God’s plan for our lives must be the greatest tragedy this side of eternity.”
We all have great ideas for our future as we begin our lives. For most people, reality sets in and we lose or don’t even know our purpose for being on this earth.
Even our good ideas…we can make happen, but it tales a lot of hard work and if we are successful, we get the credit. We can spend a lot of time and energy pursuing our good ideas and dreams…and in the process lose our way…family and relationships can and may suffer. On the other hand, Andy states that a divine vision is limited only by God’s potential and resources and that means anything is possible. If it is just a good idea, you have to make it happen. When God gives you a vision, there’s a sense in which you stand back and watch it happen. And when it does, God gets the glory.
For most or a lot of us, we lose the vision along the way. Andy gives some good wisdom on this subject and is worth pursuing.
More on Visioneering by Andy Stanley
Put Your Retirement Dream to the Test
John Maxwell in his book, Put Your Dream To The Test. Has some good ideas and offers 10 questions to help you see your dream and seize it.
He states, “A dream is an inspiring picture of the future that energizes your mind, will, and emotion, empowering you do do everything you can to achieve it.
“Always remember there are only two kinds of people in this world- the realists and the dreamers. The realists know where they’re going. The dreamers have already been there. Robert Oren
Finishing Well by Bob Buford
Reflections and Conversations on Purpose in your retirement
Imagine for a moment: you and I are sharing lunch at your favorite spot—a cozy place perfect for meaningful conversation. You’ve reached a point in life where you’re wondering, “What now? What’s next?” Perhaps you sense a new season approaching. Maybe you’ve recently lost a spouse, as I have—Naomi now rests with the Lord in Heaven, but that’s another story.
Or perhaps you’re approaching retirement, or just entering it. Have you taken time to discern what God might be urging you to do now? Do you long to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant”? What does that mean to you, personally?
We all desire to finish life well. But what does that truly look like for you? If you’re sharing this moment with someone, ask them—because each of us moves through different seasons of life.
Do you carry a dream in your heart? Jim Collins calls it a BHAG—a “Big Hairy Audacious Goal.” What inspires you to greet each morning with renewed enthusiasm? Do you sense a vision from God guiding your steps?
Visioneering by Andy Stanley
Andy Stanley’s book, Visioneering, offers helpful insights. He describes visioneering as the path that turns dreams into reality—a process where ideas and convictions take on substance. As Christians, we strive to honor God in everything we do. Andy reminds us: “Honoring God means discovering his vision for what our lives could and should be.” Missing out on God’s plan, he says, “must be the greatest tragedy this side of eternity.”
We begin life with bold ideas for the future, but reality often dampens our sense of purpose. While we can achieve our own good ideas through hard work—and earn the credit—sometimes, chasing personal dreams can cause us to lose direction, and our relationships may suffer. In contrast, Andy explains that a divine vision is only limited by God’s potential and resources—making all things possible. If it’s just your idea, you must make it happen; but if it’s God’s vision, you often stand back and watch it unfold, and He receives the glory.
Many lose sight of their vision along the way. Andy Stanley’s wisdom is worth pursuing if you seek clarity.
Put your dream to the test
John Maxwell’s book, Put Your Dream To The Test, also offers practical tools—including ten questions designed to help clarify and pursue your dream. Maxwell believes, “A dream is an inspiring picture of the future that energizes your mind, will, and emotions, empowering you to do all you can to achieve it.”
Remember: “There are only two kinds of people in this world—the realists and the dreamers. The realists know where they’re going. The dreamers have already been there.” —Robert Oren
Reflecting on Retirement and Purpose
As you approach retirement or find yourself entering its early days, have you paused to consider what God may be calling you to do next? This season offers a unique opportunity to discern your purpose and direction.
Do you long to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant”? What does that phrase truly mean in your life? While its original interpretation centers on stewardship of finances, many Christians understand it as a recognition of good deeds and faithful service. Have you explored Scripture to discover how this message applies personally to you?
Consider your bucket list if you have one. Is compiling one a biblical pastime? Randy Alcorn shares thoughts on living for more than the fleeting moment (“the DOT”) and instead focusing on eternity (“the line”). His perspective challenges us not to waste the lives we’ve been given—explored further through various book excerpts.
Do you know your spiritual gifts?
Have you identified your spiritual gifts? Have you taken a spiritual gifts survey to clarify them? What about your strengths—have you explored them through the Strengthfinders survey? How do your strengths and spiritual gifts complement each other, and what connections might exist between them? Books like “Half Time” and “Life Well Spent” offer valuable reflections on these topics.
Do you nurture a dream? John Maxwell’s book, “Put Your Dream to the Test,” contains practical wisdom to help you examine and pursue your aspirations. Do you have a vision from the Lord? For those seeking clarity, “Visioneering” by Andy Stanley provides helpful guidance.
Ponder life’s ultimate questions: What happens one minute after you die? How does your understanding of eternity transform the way you live now? One Minute After You Die by Erwin W. Lutzer gives encouragement to us as we age and helps us in our grief when a loved one who IS in Heaven.
“The Grand Weaver” book explores the deeper meaning of your story. How God wove you together…
Our quest to finish well
Finally, do you wish to finish well? Bob Buford’s book, “Finish Well,” encourages readers to pursue significance and fulfillment in their later years.
All these questions and resources offer rich food for thought as you consider your next chapter. May you find clarity and inspiration as you seek your calling and strive to make your life well spent.
Always willing to meet one on one with anyone in the Milwaukee area to discuss any of the books and concepts I mentioned. Also, will travel …
Nuggets from various books:
Grand Weaver. How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives…Ravi Zacharias
The heart of the book: “…Seeing the designing hand of God and his intervention in our lives in such a way that we know he has a specific purpose for each of us and that he will carry us through until we meet him face-to-face and know ourselves completely.”
“By his sovereign will, we have come into being with an expressed and designed purpose.”
Have you found your calling?
“A calling is simply God’s shaping of your burden and beckoning you to your service to him in the place and pursuit of hie choosing. Finding your home in your service to Christ is key to noticing the threads designed just for you. It gives you that hand-in-glove sensation and provides the security of knowing that you are utilizing your gifts and your will to God’s ends first, not for yours. When your will becomes aligned with God’s will, his calling upon you has found its home.”
Discover Your Destiny. Let God Use You Like He Made You. By Tony Evans
“When your life is filled with purpose, you measure what you have done according to what you were created to do.”
“God has already completed a spiritual blueprint of what you are to physically accomplish.”
“Your purpose isn’t just about you. It’s about God and His kingdom agenda.”
Tony goes on to say, “…Your destiny is the customized life calling God has ordained and equipped you to accomplish in order to bring Him the greatest glory and achieve the maximum expansion of His kingdom.”
“Whatever God has called you to do will have eternal repercussions.”
“The number one ingredient in living out your destiny is your passion.”
“He has a way of pouring a lot of purpose into the years you have left.”
So, no matter how old you may be, God can accomplish whatever He wants in your life in your remaining years. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a clear picture of where the Lord is or may be leading you. When the time is right He will make it happen!
Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper
Key thoughts:
“You don’t have to know a lot of things for your life to make a lasting difference in the world. But you do have to know the few great things that matter, perhaps just one, and then be willing to live for them and die for them. The people that make a durable difference in the world are not the people who have mastered many things, but who have been mastered by one great thing. If you want you life to count, if you want the ripple effect of the pebbles you drop to become waves that reach the ends of the earth and roll on into eternity, you don’t need to have a high IQ. You don’t have to have good looks or riches or come from a fine family or a fine school. Instead you have to know a few great, majestic, unchanging, obvious, simple, glorious things-or one great all embracing thing-and be set on fire by them.
“What is the one passion of your life that makes everything else look like rubbish in comparison? Oh, that God would help me waken in you a single passion for a single great reality that would unleash you, and set you free from small dreams, and send you, for t he glory of Christ, into all the spheres of secular life and to all the peoples of the earth.”
Nuggets from Various Books
Grand Weaver: How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives – Ravi Zacharias
- At the heart of this book lies the conviction that God’s intentional design and involvement in our lives gives each person a unique purpose. By His sovereign will, we exist with a meaning crafted for us, and He will guide us until the day we meet Him and fully understand ourselves.
- Finding Your Calling
- A true calling is God gently shaping your deepest concerns and leading you into service for Him, in the place and way He chooses. Discovering where you truly belong in serving Christ helps reveal the threads of destiny woven just for you. This brings a reassuring sense of “hand-in-glove” fit, confirming that you are using your gifts for God’s purposes, not your own. Once your will aligns with God’s, you have found your calling.
- Living a life filled with purpose means measuring your actions against what you were created to do. God has already designed a spiritual blueprint for what you are meant to accomplish. Your purpose isn’t self-centered—it’s woven into God’s broader kingdom plan. Evans describes destiny as the personalized calling God has crafted and equipped you to complete, so you can bring Him glory and help His kingdom flourish. Whatever God calls you to do will have lasting, eternal impact. Passion is the key ingredient to living out your destiny. No matter your age, God can fill your remaining years with meaning. If you’re unsure of your direction, trust that God will reveal it when the time is right.
The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns
“God has created each of us with a unique contribution to make in our world and our times. No other person has our same abilities, motivations, network of friends and relationships, perspectives, ideas, or experiences. When we, like misplaced puzzle pieces, fail to show up, the overall picture is diminished.” Richard Stearns: President of World Vision U.S.
“In everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV
In His Footsteps My Pathway.
As Roy Lessin states in his June 21st devotion, “Seasons”, in His Footsteps My Pathway, “Within God’s will for your life there will be seasons when certain opportunities, ministries, circumstances, and relationships move in or out of your life, like the seasons of the year that change around you.
There will be winter seasons when things are quiet, and you sense those special times when you are shut-in with God; there will be spring seasons when you sense renewal freshness, and God bringing forth new vision and new directions in your life.
There will be summer seasons filled with growth, endurance, and strength for labor; there will be fall seasons when you will see beauty; change, and the ingathering of the harvest of your labors.”
Each of us are in different seasons of our lives, some in retirement or near retirement and wondering what is next? Or you may have just sensed the Lord leading you to change jobs, or find another “volunteer” opportunity.
We all have options!
Truly retire as the world tells us or get refired...Change jobs, start a company, serve on a company board, volunteer at your favorite charity or church, parish…or spend your time living in the DOT as Randy Alcorn says or Living for the Line ._________________________________________________
What’s your next step in your retirement planning?
Do you really want to retire?
When the time is right, the Lord will make it happen...
A lot to reflect on and Prayer?
Take a quick look at how God has made you.
God’s loving design for you. Your body, mind, passion and prior experiences are and have been carefully designed by God. You are special, unique and have a special role in God’s creation. Embrace your unique journey, the journey of a lifetime! You are God’s special creation, designed with love and purpose. Embrace your unique journey,…
