Monday Musings ~ Begin well, End well

I have been reading about Noah this past week.  It is such a fascinating story - like watching one of those Lifetime movies!  Noah was no doubt an amazing man. He was beyond faithful and saw truly miraculous things from the Lord.  With that, I would say that the last thing we see of Noah is kind of sad!

In Genesis 9, we see that Noah planted a vineyard and then had way too much of its produce in the form of some homemade wine.  He was drunk and then passed out.  In this situation, one of his sons looked upon him with a sinful intent and that third of his family went down a sad and downward spiral.  

These readings that I am doing are about different people of the Word, so as I am reading, I'm looking for character traits that I would want to emulate and those that are a warning to me.  I so appreciate the Word of God that is so honest and real.  It builds my faith in the accuracy of God's Word when such an embarrassing story is included about one of God's finest. 

What did I learn from this?

I don't just want to begin well . . .

 I want to end well.

I'm at mid life (if I live to be 106 :-)).  As the years go by, I want to remain faithful to God in every way.  I wonder if Noah lost sight of God's plan for him after the ark.  I mean, that was a big deal, so maybe he retired and took it easy.  Who could blame him?

Doesn't it seem like we get through the really tough things and then sometimes, the relatively easy times trip us up?

Here is the deal - we never retire from God's call on our life.  We are his from our first breath to our last breath and then we slide right into His presence.  There are no vacations from God, no holidays off and no last day of work.  

But . . . the retirement plan is out of this world (literally!)

Certainly, over the years, what God's call on my life looks like has varied, but the heart of the mission is the same.

How can I guard my heart as I grow older?

I must stay in the Word.

I need to be open to change.

I must keep a tender heart toward others.

PRAY

Be obedient in both the big and small things.

 Keep the Lord in my conversations with others.

Always keep an eye out for where God is at work.

Seize the opportunities He puts before me.

I want to end well.  I want to live every day for my Savior.  I pray that the Lord will guard my heart from spiritual laziness.  I pray that He will keep me on my toes - energized for Him.  I want to serve Him every single day of my life until that moment when He brings me home.

How about you?