A friend of ours recently retired, and it was a big transition. A widower of many years, he went from working every single day to being unsure of how to spend his time. As many people do, my friend faced a bit of an identity crisis. He realized that much of his identity had resulted from his career. He felt the Lord calling him to rethink things.

This problem isn’t just something that people have when they retire. It’s something anyone can have – young, old, male, or female. We all have a tendency to get our sense of self-worth from something other than God. Maybe it’s your job, or your degree, or your spouse. We think that those things will bring us security and meaning, but eventually we realize that nothing except Jesus, the Son of God, can truly fill us. Nothing except Jesus can truly bring us the peace, security, self-worth, and the meaning we crave. When we put other things first in our lives, it’s inevitable that we will face struggles and identity crises—because this isn’t how God intended for us to live.

The Bible says in Psalm 16:8, “I have set the Lord always before me;’ because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” This is Luis Palau.