Psalms 40:4-5 NIV — Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

When I am feeling downtrodden, my natural inclination is to withdraw and turn inward. How about you? I think at first I want to feel sorry for myself and eventually I just want to be antisocial. However, I have learned that when I am feeling this way, the best medicine is connection. Recently when I was in a dark hole, I realized I was withdrawing. After dinner each evening I got into the habit of retiring to my room instead of staying in the den and watching TV with my family. I also began making excuses and reasons to not do things with my friends. In yesterday’s post I shared that for me the first step of digging out of my darkness was calling out to God and getting back to spending time in His presence and word. Once I began that, God opened my eyes to my new habit of withdrawing and lack of connection. 

Next I worked on reconnecting. I was intentional on reaching out to some friends to schedule time to walk and talk. During our time together, I shared some of my daily struggles. Just that little bit of connection and sharing helped me to restructure my evening time at home, thus changing my new habit of withdrawing.

My experience of digging out of darkness: 

Step 1: Cry out to God and read the Bible

Step 2: Connect and share with others

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for opening my eyes to times when I am withdrawing and turning inward. Help me to stay connected and share my struggles with others. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

If you feel that you are struggling with depression, you don’t have to struggle alone. You can call The National Mental Health Hotline at 866-903-3787 to speak to a professional about depression and get help with mental health resources.

Psalms 40:11-13 NIV — Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased to save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord, to help me.

In my experience, when I am walking through a valley or have fallen into a pit, I have also unintentionally backed away from God. As I look back over a recent time of darkness, I realize I was going through the motions of spending time with God, but I allowed distractions to redirect my focus. For example, I continued to get up early, gathered my devotion books and journal, and read a short devotion. However, I then would pick up my phone to look at an email devotion and instead of reading the devotion I would start deleting unwanted emails and eventually I would get sucked into scrolling through social media. 

As the days of that pattern continued, I was getting further and further away from my time with God. I continued to get up early, but eventually the habit of sitting with God turned into a habit of wasting time. As the pressures of life grew, my stress also grew and I was not coping well. Thus began a slow decline until I found myself in a dark pit. To others I may have appeared the same, but inside, I felt downtrodden. My first step to digging out of the hole was when I cried out to God and got back into His word. God began to open my eyes to the change I had made allowing distractions to change my morning focus and He began to refocus my mindset. I got back on track with my morning routine and habit of time with God and the Master equipped me with the shovel to start the process of digging out of my dark pit. 

My experience of digging out of darkness: 

Step 1: Cry out to God and read the Bible

Let’s pray. Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for not giving up on me when I move away from You. Thank You for always showing me Your presence when I call out to You. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

If you feel that you are struggling with depression, you don’t have to struggle alone. You can call The National Mental Health Hotline at 866-903-3787 to speak to a professional about depression and get help with mental health resources.

Psalms 40:17 NIV — But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay.

NEWS FLASH! Life is hard! I am sure that is not news to you. It certainly isn’t news to me. We have many ups and downs in life. Sometimes we seem to walk through a valley for a long season, and sometimes we fall into a dark pit.

Has there been a time when you felt like you were walking in an endless valley? Have you ever fallen into a dark pit? Perhaps you are currently in a dark and difficult season. Join me this week as I share my experiences of digging out of a dark pit and walking through an unlit valley. Spoiler alert: God holds the shovel that can dig you out of the darkness and He is the trailblazer through the difficult terrain of a valley. 

Let’s pray with the guidance of today’s scripture. Dear Lord, “think of me. You are my help and deliverer; you are my God, do not delay.” In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

If you feel that you are struggling with depression, you don’t have to struggle alone. You can call The National Mental Health Hotline at 866-903-3787 to speak to a professional about depression and get help with mental health resources.

Acts 20:24 NIV — However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

We have spent this week together examining different aspects of retirement. If you are not retired, I pray you are still able to glean God’s message for you. No matter what stage of life or season you are in, God still has work for you to do. God can and will use us any time we are open to His guidance. As Christians, we are called to be God’s messengers. Writing is my avenue to share God’s love. How is God using you? Whether you have retired, are in the thick of the workforce, or just starting out, God’s got work for you to do to build His kingdom. Let’s be open, let’s be intentional, and let’s “finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given” us!

Let’s pray. Dear God, I am Your vessel. Guide and direct me so that I may complete Your task. Forgive me when I fall short. I am aiming to finish the race! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Philippians 1:3-6 NIV — I thank God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

I am not retired yet. I am still in the routine of rising early to start my day with devotion and time with God, going to work, working hard at my job, and then returning home to carry out my roles at home. Currently, I love my job and look forward to the work I am able to do each day. However, retirement is on the horizon for me. Technically, I can retire in June of 2026. At this moment I am undecided on when I actually will retire. However, I feel like my writing for God is just getting started. God continues to put others in my path who teach me, stretch me, and push me in my writing. As long as God lays upon my heart His message to share, I will do my part in relaying it through writing. I am so thankful for Julie and Ray and our ministry partnership of sharing God through Waterwalkers.

Take time to ponder your current season. What blessings are you thankful for? Has God placed someone in your life to partner with in His ministry? Spend some time praising God for this season.

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for this current season. Open my eyes to all of the blessings. Thank you for using me as Your vessel. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Colossians 3:23-24 NIV — Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Ephesians 2:10 NIV — For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

As Christians, you and I are called to a relationship and service to God. We each have gifts and abilities that God can use to share His love with others in every season of life. We have spent most of our week talking about retirement but many of us have not retired yet. Perhaps you are new to the workforce and have many years until retirement. Maybe your retirement date is within sight and you are beginning your exit from the workforce. Possibly, you are the age for retirement and are ready to retire, but financially not able to stop working. No matter your season, God has a purpose and mission for you right where you are.

Spend some time examining your current season. How are you serving God? How is God using you to share His love with others? Is He calling you out of your boat? How are you listening, trusting, and obeying His call? Today I encourage you to embrace your current season. Allow God’s hand to guide and direct your path of relationship and service with and for Him.

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for my current season in life. Show me Your path for me and give me strength and courage to step out of my boat, trust and obey Your call. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

(Today’s post is written by Ray White.)

1 Peter 4:10 — Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

 This week Deborah is sharing insight about retirement and service to God. Entering retirement after a lifetime of structured labor is daunting for some people, while others chase it like a child running to an ice cream truck.

What we do with our time in retirement, like how time is spent in the workforce, matters. Opportunities to be of service to God are all around us, especially if we actively seek ways to serve. Before I retired in the summer of 2021 I prayed God would use me for His glory.

While filling out retirement paperwork with Julie, who I barely knew, a desk photo of her father led to a conversation about him. We discovered her father and I were stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas at the same time in the 1970s.

After meeting Julie I started following this Water Walkers’ blog.  As I read the blog for a week or so, I realized my passion for photography could be useful and volunteered to submit photos to occasionally accompany their posts. That led to submitting daily photos, then later helping with planning and editing. Working on this Water Walkers blog with Deborah and Julie has been a rich blessing from God.

If we ask God to provide opportunities to serve Him, then listen to and follow the Holy Spirit, we will find blessings beyond measure at any time of our life.

Let’s pray:  Heavenly Father, thank You for the blessings You provide and please lead me to opportunities to serve You and proclaim the salvation offered by Christ Jesus. Amen.