Part of maturity is actively taking responsibility for the things that are ours to own. And we abdicate our power when we simply allow life to happen to us – failing to exercise the gifts God has given us to make an impact for good. But faithfully managing our strength is not the same as believing life depends on us. It’s good to regularly pause and remember that our strength still rests in the hands of a good Father.
To be sure, some of us are good at getting things done, while others might excel at figuring things out or allowing others to feel seen and cared for. We each have our gifts for doing certain things well. And we have the responsibility to grow and offer our gifts to the full. In fact, we sin when it’s within our power to do good and we don’t do it.
All the same, we must not let pride get the best of us either – believing it’s up to us to do enough, know enough, or care enough to keep the world around us running.
Christ still sustains the world and everything in it by his power. And so while we’re called to participate with him, it’s not up to us to do it all. We get to rest in his good hands. And this frees our gifts from compulsion and desperation – the dread that we can never do enough and the toxic pressure to keep doing more.
This is not an excuse for laziness. But it is a reminder to see our work in the larger frame of God’s blessings and provision. We eventually burn out and become ineffective when we forget the One who sustains us.
In the end, faithfully exercise and offer the many gifts God has given you. But don’t forget the One who sustains it all, and to rest in his good hands.
