Part of the Process

I don't want to be part of the solution, I want to have the answer. I don't want to fix my part, I want to fix the whole thing. I don't want to work on something to a point and then hand it off for the next step, but that is the way that life works. We are called to be a part of the process, and very rarely are we the total solution.

Can you imagine the disappointment that Moses had when he was standing on the peak looking down into the land that he would never be able to enter? After all that he had been a part of, the plagues, the sea, the commandments, Moses still was not allowed to be a part of the next step. Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land in the same way that we often don't get to see the end of the story.

A few months ago I came across an old picture of our church's youth ministry. It was definitely from the early 80s, and it reminded me that I am just one of many ministers who will have an impact at my church. People were here before, and people will be here again. The key is to embrace the present and do your best with the part that you have been asked to play.

This is not easy to do in most cases. Just ask the sons or daughters who cannot convince their parent to come to faith. Just ask the friend who has no idea what to do when someone they love is experiencing emotional pain. Just ask the minister who sees a kid messing up her life and cannot figure out what she should do to help.

We live in a quick fix world now, and solutions are supposed to be fast. There are entire corporations whose sole purpose is to provide solutions to problems. If I need an answer to something, all that I need to do is Google it from my phone and I have it. That is not how life works, though. Solutions do not come easy, and people cannot be fixed when someone finds the perfect answer. Isn't that essentially what Job's friends did? They came with quick answers trying to fix a situation that was simply immune to a quick fix.

So what do we do? We change our perspective. If we approach these things with a win or lose mentality, we have already lost. If you beat yourself up because things are not better even though you tried your best, you will always feel like a failure. Like I said before, the answer is to understand that you are part of the process, but not necessarily the solution to the problem. Imagine putting it on yourself to save the soul of your friend. You try and try, but you are not succeeding. Then suddenly they call you and say that they have become a Christian because they heard a song that made them think about things in a completely different way. See, you were part of the process and so were the people who made the song, and so were the people who put it on the radio. Embrace your part, do it well, but do not become defeated.

I doubt Moses felt like he had been defeated, disappointed yes, but not defeated. Moses allowed himself to be used by God and had a huge part in the process of saving the world. Whatever issues you face, remember that you are a part of the process, but also remember that you have a God who is control of the whole.