In their new book, Afterwork: An Honest Discussion about the Retirement Lie and How to Live a Future Worthy of Dreams, Joel Malick and Alex Lippert speak about 10 key disciplines for having a flourishing life after work. I was encouraged by the chapter about faith. They provided a great perspective on how faith is connected to purpose and how this is connected to flourishing in this stage of life.

As believers we have understood that there is a void in everyone’s life that needs to be filled. We have learned that this void will not be filled with stuff. It can only be filled with God. It is our faith that helps bridge the divide in our lives. It is through this understanding that we recognize that we have a purpose beyond ourselves but also a purpose within ourselves. This is about faith and how our faith shapes our lives.

C.S. Lewis said that we “must train the habit of faith.” It is easy for us to be tossed around by the shifting winds of emotion. When things in our lives shift by changing schedules, health issues, change in our daily habits, bad weather, or one of many other things, it causes doubts and fears. Our emotions can get out of sync with our minds. The solution is for us to continue to “train our faith.” We must continue to grow and develop our faith.

Without a growing and healthy faith, life can be void of an ultimate life-purpose. This will lead to much time wasted trying to discover our lasting fulfillment in the wrong places. But we can be assured that as we grow in our faith, we will see not only fulfillment in this life with a God given purpose, but as we stretch towards the finish line, we will also know that this is just the beginning of the next chapter.

Let me encourage you to go to the book of Acts and read about the conversion of Paul and the story of a changed life. He was a very religious man with great fervency for God. But this was not a completed work until he found Jesus on the road to Damascus. Then as he entered the next chapter of his life as a committed Christian, everything changed. Paul became a great man of faith. And his life reflected the calling that God has for all of us. He struggled with sin. He had physical issues (thorn in the flesh). He was wrongly imprisoned and received persecution in all forms imaginable. But he said, “to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Paul was not a victim of his past. He devoted his life before Christ to destroying people’s lives with Christ. But after his conversion, he put the old ways behind himself. Our past doesn’t have to have any say in our future. Faith gives us the courage to change and the confidence to know that change will make a difference.

As you contemplate what your life looks like, what your future holds, what God is calling you to as you enter the third third of your life, explore the specific purpose that God has in mind. Ask God to reveal this purpose. It may not be anything new. It may be something you have never explored before. It surely will be something that stretches your faith. As you discover

this special calling and purpose, pursue it with zeal. Seek after it with all the energy and passion that God can give you. You will find yourself fulfilled in ways you could never imagine. I would love to hear stories of what God is saying to you. Please share your testimonies.

Some resources to help you navigate the third third of life:

· Afterwork -by Joel Malick and Alex Lippert
· Third Third Initiative website - https://depree.org/third-third/
· Re-Ignite Blog - https://re-ignite.net/re-ignite-blog/
· Amy Hanson Blog - http://amyhanson.org/blog/

More to come…
Gary