Many people work hard throughout life, looking forward to retirement as a season when they can reap the benefits of all the good seeds they sowed. However, when it comes time for this new chapter of life, it's common for older adults to feel somewhat isolated. If you have to move or lose friends through the years, you may feel separated from the vibrancy of life and the social circles you once called home.
As with any other time in life, retirement can bring other types of challenges. From health concerns to worries about adult children or grandchildren, older adults can face obstacles in life. For seniors of faith, the more-than-conquerors section of Romans 8 has a lot to offer in answer to such concerns.
The more-than-conquerors section of Romans 8 runs from verse 31 through verse 39. Paul begins with a series of questions, including "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
Even the lifelong person of faith can question whether God is really in their corner at times. Even if you're someone who remembers a childhood in Sunday school and walked decades with the Lord, it's only human to have some doubts and questions.
During times when we see only challenges in our daily life, it's important to remember that God is still for us. Paul says that the good God who loved his people so much he gave up his own Son to save them will also give them all things. The goal is to look beyond the trappings of the world and into the blessings of the divine.
Whether you're making a move to assisted living and aren't sure whether you'll like the change or you're facing a health scare, as a senior of faith, you can take comfort in Paul's words. You can know that God loved you so much he gave up his Son. You can also know that the Son loved you so much he gave up his life and, as Paul writes, even now he is interceding for you.
Of course, that doesn't mean everything will be perfect at any time on this earth. Paul makes that pretty clear in the next few verses of this section of Romans. He even points to Old Testament prophecy to make it clear to the church at the time that things won't always go well in the flesh.
For Paul and many other early Christians, the challenges that arose included persecution, torture and even death. Even so, Paul continued to point to Jesus and extolled others to do the same.
As an older adult of faith, you can face challenges in your life in the same way: by pointing to Jesus for yourself and others. Often, people fall into the trap of thinking they need to do something big to do this. Because big actions can feel daunting or even impossible at times — and especially when you're dealing with challenges — this can cause people not to take any action at all.
Instead, try doing something small to reset the balance of your day and move your focus from whatever obstacles you might be facing to Jesus. Some ideas can include:
Paul ends this section of Romans with two lists. First, he asks what is powerful enough to separate people of faith from the love of Christ. In a rhetorical question, he lists challenges such as famine, persecution and the sword, and the meaning is clear: Paul doesn't think any of these has that power.
He goes on later to say he's sure that nothing — not the dark forces in the world, not anything present as he was writing, not anything that would come in the future and not even death — would separate the believer from the love of Jesus.
Whatever happens as you move into retirement — whether joyful or challenging — as a senior of faith, you can hold true that promise.
