Less Striving, More Abiding

The message I am getting every which way I turn these days is that God is the One in charge. That it’s seriously not all about me. 

See, we all come pre-programmed to be independent, to seek affirmation, to do something great, to be right, to succeed, to somehow take this flesh-wrapped humanness and make something amazing out of it that will be applauded and made an example to others. We have dreams for what we can achieve, hopes for our future, plans for how we are going to take this one life and live it to the fullest.

I am. I do.

We are designed for greatness. And we crave it like a cool drink after a hard game of soccer. Life won’t be complete without some masterful achievement or philanthropy or incredible feats of strength and bravery. We don’t really like mundane.

And we’re seldom satisfied. We don’t feel like we’re enough — our hospitality isn’t good enough, our homes aren’t clean enough, our kids aren’t kind enough, are clothes are never cute enough, our bodies always need improvement, we aren’t funny enough or interesting enough or have enough energy or charisma. We don’t meet up with our own relentless expectations.

And so we try harder. We find new methods. We re-arrange the schedule again. Seriously. I’m the queen of striving.

But God didn’t plant dreams and ambitions in our hearts to make us feel constant unworthiness or discouragement. Or maybe He DID.  Not for the purpose of making us feel miserable but to point our sad hungry hearts straight to HIM. The restlessness, the striving, the discontent? Meant to make us remember our Maker. 

Who are we to think we know the biggest picture? Who do we think we are to try to orchestrate gospel tellings and minister to hearts without His prompting and guidance?

Some of my family members were affected by the recent Calgary area flooding and were greatly assisted by the organized relief efforts in their area. But Facebook told the story of many who were donating items that were not needed, trying to help when really they were getting in the way. The organizations with the big picture, with the infrastructure in place, were well equipped to do the job and asked that others fall in under their control to bring about the most good.

“Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. A branch cannot bear fruit if it is disconnected from the vine, and neither will you if you are not connected to Me.” John 15:4

Jesus asks us to abide in him — to wait for, to bear patiently, to accept without objection, to continue, to remain. To give up our way of doing things. To let Him take the reins. To be on His team. To ask for our orders.

Not to do _______ or _______ to make myself feel uh.mazing or deserve a pat on the back.

Not to fill out my Christian resume and then look down on the others who haven’t quite done enough, who aren’t quite good enough.

John and Stasi Eldredge, in their book Captivating, talk about the restful atmosphere of a calm, quiet-spirited woman who enjoys her life with Jesus and offers a great deal of mercy to those around her. She “offers others the grace to be and the room to become”. Because if you don’t give yourself any space for imperfections, you’ll live in a bubble of striving, not in an inviting atmosphere of grace.

The message? Less striving, more abiding.