Recently I felt overwhelmed by some different burdens. I sense great need, but worry about resistance to change and the work of improvement.
So, in response to some things I am learning from Dallas Willard's "Renovation of the Heart," I asked the Lord, "Father, is this overwhelm a feeling I should reject? And what would I replace it with?"
My immediate answer:
When communicating with someone about a proposed change, I can set the tone by saying that I am thankful for the opportunity to try to help, and for their collaboration. This way I remind myself that I am just a helper, and I remind my contact that I am just seeking to be a helper. Pressure diffused. (--Exhale--)
Isn't it lovely how He addressed not just my question, but my immediate next practical step? He knows how to provide the fullest answers.
So the answer to my struggle is this. I have not been handed any great weight or responsibility. God shoulders all of that. I am a helper who gets to help alongside other helpers. Each day of helping is a gift and an individual act of worship to my King. The outcomes are all in His hands, for He directs our modes of worship.
I find that I uncover the most wonderful secrets only after first having walked through some perplexity and being driven to ask my Father, "why?" Unsurprisingly, to wrestle with the absence of an understanding before gaining it seems to be far superior to receiving a teaching without that sense of need for it. So I find myself encouraged to observe my own struggles, small and great, and go to my Father about them. To endure hardship without question may signify endurance and patience, but to grow in relationship with the Father and in rulership with Christ, I think, Is even better.
