I am not needed. Ouch. That stings a little.
I’m the type of person who always has to fix the problems I see. I’m what some may say is a go-getter. I’m not a quitter, and I know I can help solve the issues around me, if they’d just let me.
What God has been slowly teaching me, though, is that He doesn’t really need me or my help – ever. He’s perfectly able to fix the problems on His own.
I started learning this lesson when I moved across the ocean. All of the sudden, problems that were seemingly easy to fix before were out of my control. Sometimes it was smaller things like the power outages that happened every other day when I first moved here. I had no idea how to call the electrical company or what to say to them. We were just stuck with no power for hours on end. Only years later did I learn there was a magical number you could call for the workers to come and fix the problem within hours.
There are bigger problems too, like family or friend misunderstandings. It was so hard for me to let go when my family members would fight, and I couldn’t be there to “fix it” like I wanted to. Or when my friends would have an issue with each other, and nothing I did would mend their friendship.
Life-changing problems have happened, as well, like when my school closed down. We fasted and prayed and worked hard to change the sending organization’s mind into giving us a little more money so we could stay open – at least until the end of the year. But all our hard work, sweat and tears seemed to go down the drain the day they said we were closing down. Up to that point, I knew I was meant to be here. I knew I was doing work for the Lord. I thought all my lesson plans and leadership of our section and hours of planning for our school’s future was helping. But all of a sudden, all those hours of planning were for nothing.
And there was nothing I could do to fix it.
Hebrew 3:6 tells us that Jesus is the faithful builder of His Church. If Jesus is the One doing the building, then what am I doing? I am just His tool. If you’ve ever watched those fixer-upper shows on HGTV, you’ll know that it’s not the tools who get the job done. No, they may help, but it’s the builder who does all the work. A tool can easily be replaced, but the builder is the creator and the architect and the one who really does all the work.
So again, I’m really not needed. And though that’s hard to digest, it’s also freeing. For most of my life, I’ve placed the burden of the world on my shoulders. Like if I did something wrong or made a mistake, everything would fall apart: my family, my classroom, my school, my life. But that’s not truth. The truth is that I can never be enough or do enough to earn God’s favor or love. It’s a gift, and it’s freely mine.
The end to that story is that God came through for our little school here. On the third day after we closed, He miraculously opened our doors back up for business. (Yes, exactly three days later – crazy right?) Through loyal parents and a change of heart, we were able to open our doors again in time for the second semester. It’s a testimony that truly only God can fix the problems that we face. He is our helper in times of need.
How has God taught you that you’re not needed? Has it been a challenging lesson for you to learn?
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
