trusting Him with the work

a kindling post

It’s finally done: A blanket for my oldest girl, which I hoped to finish before she graduated (sigh) moved out.

I started it three years ago without a firm plan of what it would look like or who it would be for. But it wasn’t my first rodeo, so I knew it would be a long project because that’s just the way it is: granny squares plus fine yarn equals a several year commitment.

If you are in the middle of something, or just beginning it — and by “it” I mean parenting, marriage, ministry, business, adoption, homeschooling, it could be a million things — and you’re not sure what you’re doing or how it will turn out or even what the purpose is, I’ve got good news for you.

That’s how growth works. That’s what surrender and obedience look like. We move with the Spirit and trust that He has good ideas even when He doesn’t give us the whole plan.

Eventually we’ll recognize it starting to take shape. We’ll see the colors arranged, and the pattern emerge. And we’ll be like, Oh! Of course, that’s what it was all along. What was I fussing about so much?

Wouldn’t it be nice to get to that point without the fussing, though? Deep breath. We can trust Him. Just do the thing He tells you. Let Him carry the weight of design — He’s better at it than we are.

We feel worn out and alone when we’ve been carrying too much. We see others who seem to be aligned with God and fulfilling their callings, and we’re not sure how we’re missing out or why we feel so far away or how we got there. But our hearts long to be in communion with Him and His community, to be in alignment, and to reflect the picture He made us to be.

So here, friend: It’s not your job to do what only He can do. It’s not about you. You don’t have to conjure up the right feelings or answers to get back in proximity. He is the one who gives you hunger and He is also the one who satisfies it. It’s from Him, all of it.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

— John 15:4-5

This yarn does not know what to do with itself. It cannot make itself into anything. Left to roll around on its own it becomes a tangled mess, but in the hands of a maker it becomes useful and beautiful.

So hey…have you put yourself in the hands of the Maker lately?

There are things in our hearts we cannot fix on our own: hard feelings toward others, wounds, bad habits, old immaturities. Things we’re confused about, situations we’re too close to that they make us cross-eyed when we try to look at them clearly. But we can put ourselves in proximity to the Maker and let Him do His work in us, untying those knots and bringing clarity and softening our hard spots.

Here’s how:

• Get in the Word. We have to read Him to know Him.

• Be honest with Him in prayer. He knows it all anyway but He wants to hear it from you.

• Intercede for someone else who needs Him. Ask Him how to pray for them and He’ll show you.

• Thank Him for what He’s done and what He’s doing, even if you don’t see it yet.

• Do what He’s telling you to do. Remove those old influences so you stop getting re-tangled.

The needle is moving, working in and out, healing the areas deep inside. He knows what to do with us.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

— Ephesians 2:10

You can rest in this being His work that He’s doing in you. You can’t move yourself. You can obey, yes; you can surrender and yield. But He will do the moving and He will put you back in the right places. He’s doing it already. He knew your desire because He put it there, and it is evidence that He’s already bringing you into alignment.

I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul, and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.

— Psalm 31:7-8

All the pieces that are floating about in your mind as scraps of thoughts and ideas, questions and longings, must-dos and should-have-dones, are pieces that the Lord knows how to deal with.

He knows which ones go together and which ones need to be put away for later, or for good.

He knows how to heal your regret and how to put together ripped fragments.

He knows how to match pieces together that will give you a holy “aha” so you can see how He’s been moving all along.

He’s not playing tricks on you or waiting for you to do something just right before revealing it to you. He’s waiting for the time to be just right so you get the very best of what He’s prepared for you.

You can rest in Him even when you feel restless. Trust Him in the work He’s doing in you, and surrender your need to know exactly what it is. Breakthrough might come faster the sooner you do.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

— Ephesians 3:20-21

You can put your work away and rest.

You might need to put your thoughts away, too. Tuck them in for the night.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.

— Romans 8:1-3a

Jesus, help us to trust You to be moving in the things we’re unsure about that are out of our hands. Increase our faith and help us see, think, and believe the way You do. We believe; help our unbelief. Change us as we read Your word, and help us understand things we’ve never understood or noticed before.

We are yielded. We are postured to hear You. We’re walking into days of great power and victory, because we know You’ve already gone ahead of us and equipped us to grow, mature, and do our work well.

We trust You to give us the wisdom and revelation we need to manage tomorrow and the days to come. We can trust You to download answers and ideas to us as we sleep. Help us to rest so our striving gets out of Your way. We can do what You call us to do, and we can firmly say no to the things You don’t call us to do. And we can hear You and know the difference as we abide.

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Trusting Him With The Work

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