Me < God

Do you ever wonder if you're doing enough for God?  Have you been praying that a certain someone would come to know Jesus for a long time, with no progress?  Does attending church ever feel like a burden because you know when you get there you will be put to work?  Do you check the caller ID before you answer the phone in case your pastor (or other church acquaintance) might be calling to ask you to serve on a committee or in leadership?  Have you experienced guilt in saying no or having to back out of a church/faith obligation? Maybe you've left a time of worship thinking you'll never go back because you couldn't stand the music?  Have you ever said something about a sermon/worship time like, "I'm not sure I will be back, I got nothing out of it"?  

Here's the thing that I want you to hear.  Say it out loud:  IT'S NOT ABOUT ME.  Say it again, maybe you need to say it in the mirror so you can see yourself.  IT'S NOT ABOUT ME.  IT'S NOT ABOUT ME.

We live in a culture that offers us things we want at rapid speeds.  We can order anything we can think of online, only to have it placed directly outside our front door in a matter of days.  So much of the world is about us that it is SO easy to think that faith is too.  But here's the thing (and I'm talking to myself here too) God's work is not dependent upon us.  It isn't about what we do or say to "save souls."  God does the saving.  Those prayers that may seem futile or unanswered don't mean that God isn't listening or doesn't care, rather God is in the business of opening and transforming people in grace and love.  This process takes a lot longer for some of us.  If we subscribe to this thinking that doing or praying more leads God to respond in the way we desire we engage in a dangerous, co-dependent way of living out our connection with our Creator.  

In Ephesians 2 it says:

7-10 Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing."

I have been told more than once when I'm really nervous about preaching or speaking that God's work in the world is not dependent upon my performance.   If we can really receive the grace and kindness of God that comes in Jesus Christ we quickly realize that the best way to live fully is to be less concerned about "me" and increasingly open to the movement of the Spirit in us.  When focused on growing in the Spirit we can't help but realize that the things we don't like, or the message that doesn't speak to us may be changing the life of the person we are sitting next to.  God loves us so much that we aren't given everything we want.  God loves us so much that we can't comprehend the million ways God interacts with each one of us.  God made us so unique with different likes/dislikes in order that we see the vast, unlimited nature of the One who called us into being.  

So take a deep breath tonight.  If you didn't get everything done today that you'd hoped, or if there is a situation in which you feel God is absent - relax.  It's not about you.  It's not about us.  God is at work and we get to hop-on for the most magical ride of a life of faith.  Our job is to trust.  Our job is to keep the faith and stay connected.  

Are you plugged in? How might you deepen your connection with God?  

Prayer:  God so often it is easy to get too busy.  I'm sorry that I let the things of the world creep in and overwhelm me.  Help me to stay focused on the power that comes from deep connection with You.  Open my perspective to those who experience You differently than I do, that in all times and places together we can celebrate Your love.  Help me to remember that serving you is a gift through which I learn more about your glory and action in the world.  Amen.