My Sure Foundation

I read this verse the other morning and it was exactly what I needed. Think about it. "A sure foundation for MY times." I've been pondering retirement lately, or more accurately, the possibility that I will need to work until I keel over at my desk. I'm 62 and the reality is that I need to consider a few things and maybe do a little planning. When I was younger and married, I didn't give it any thought. However, there were certain assumptions made. We would have two incomes for quite a while, then two social security checks, Medicare, a small retirement account, and finally, the option to sell the property and buy something for cash.

My times have changed. Now there is one inadequate income, a future of only one social security check, no retirement account, and a property that could potentially provide for me when I lose my mind as long as I can sell at a reasonable price. Add to that all the controversy and turmoil with the whole medical insurance situation, civil unrest, the struggle that young families have to just survive...the list of worries is endless.

God expects me to be prudent. Trusting Him with my future doesn't mean just sitting down and waiting for a retirement plan to drift down from heaven. After all, death is the only retirement option that is guaranteed to provide for us forever. It's often hard, though, to be prudent and prepared but not cross over to anxious and controlling. Was I trusting in my husband's presence in my life? Was he my old age security blanket? I wasn't conscience of that but maybe I was a bit. At least I wasn't going to be in the struggle alone. But now...?

Yesterday, I heard about a young couple that had money in the bank, cars paid for, good jobs, etc. Then one night they were hit head-on by a drunk driver who had almost no insurance. In the blink of an eye, their lives changed. They were devastated both physically and financially. No amount of planning could have prevented the tragedy. They needed a sure foundation. I need a sure foundation.

I don't have a husband anymore but I am most definitely not alone. In fact, even when I was married, my husband wasn't the foundation on which I should have been basing my life. We are all sinners. Consequently, we all let each other down at times. God is the only foundation on which I can depend. And as if His salvation isn't enough, He also promises "a rich store of wisdom and knowledge." The Bible calls these three things, salvation, wisdom, and knowledge, our "treasure". And, since, I am not the brightest bulb in the box, the Bible even tells me the key to unlock this treasure:  the fear of the Lord, meaning, a reverence, an awe, a respect, a knowing of our God.

So, in these days, when I wonder how I will survive when I'm 75 years old, when I question how I will avoid throwing myself on the mercies of my daughters, when I panic about retirement, I need this verse. I must constantly remember that He is the foundation for my times. I need nothing else. I can completely trust Him to care for me until He decides to release me from the confines and stresses of this world. I need to immerse myself in His Word so that I can unlock this precious treasure.

This isn't easy for me. For too long, I have made it my mission to fix and take care of everybody from my dad to my kids to the family dog. I do some good things. I also drive people crazy. Most importantly, I lose the peace that comes when God is acknowledged as my foundation. He never changes. He always was and always will be my sure foundation. This is truth and it will continue to be truth no matter how I behave. I need to live what I believe. I can't do it under my own power but my gracious God will enable and strengthen and carry me.

Praise God! You are my sure foundation!