ONLY GOD
only (adj): having no equal or rival, alone in a class or category, incomparable
God (noun): the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe
“But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it’s something only God can do, and you trust him to do it–you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked–well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God…” Romans 4:5
“The job is too big for you.”
Yes. Yes it is.
All of the important jobs that God calls us to are too big for us. Serving him in our personal and professional lives. Parenting. Care-giving. Obeying. Forgiving. Following him into unfamiliar territory.
And all the dreams we have are too big for us, too. The things we hope for, the things we pray about, the miracles we need. Even with our creative ideas, our best efforts, our determination, and our good intentions, we can’t make much happen on our own.
I like to try, though.
Right now, I’m struggling with giving something to God that actually belongs to him in the first place. (He knows that I do this a lot.) I like to try to “help him along” in bringing answers to my prayers. I try to think of all the things that I can do, all the ways I can contribute to get to the answer I’m hoping for.
And I pray. When I do, I picture myself placing my request completely in his hands and leaving it there. But throughout the day, I find myself trying to take little bits and pieces back from him. I get confused because I believe that we are given gifts and strengths that we can use to do his work, yet I know that ultimately, he is the One who will accomplish it. I get ideas of things I can try to do with my human abilities, but I realize they can only go so far.
So I struggle.
How much am I responsible for?
What does having faith really look like?
Maybe it looks a little scary. While driving on the freeway the other day, I saw an elevated off-ramp under construction that came to an abrupt and precarious end. It is not finished yet; and if anyone was to accidentally find themselves on it, they would be in danger of driving right off the end of it and crashing below.
Seeing something like this usually sends chills down my spine. But this time, I felt unusually calm. I felt like God was giving me a picture of what I have been struggling to understand. Yes, he has given us unique gifts, dreams, energy, connections, and abilities to serve him with. But those are just like the unfinished off-ramp. We cannot get to the final destination without God’s intervention. At times our efforts can be really instrumental and helpful, and at other times we tend to get in God’s way; but always we are going to come to the end of ourselves.
Maybe faith is more exciting than scary. Let’s bust through the barricade and let him take us on the road we can’t even see yet. He is the way, the truth, and the life… (John 14:6).
Invite Him in: Think of all that you are praying for, hoping for, working for. You can do all the things that you know to do, but ONLY GOD can make the answers happen in his perfect way. Ask him for the kind of brave faith that he wants you to have. The trusting-him-to-do-it kind.