God’s problem, God’s job. Wow. I can’t tell you what a bombshell this has been for me. Maybe obvious to you, and I feel a bit silly for feeling so profoundly impacted by such an obvious statement, but over the past month, this has been changing my life, and I can only conclude that it’s an answer to your prayers for me, to live more as a Jesus-dependent, adopted son, clueless sheep, go-fer, rather than the independent, orphan, shepherd, CEO of my life, that fosters intensity in me, and confines me to a prison of drivenness. Now maybe you’re not a hyper-conscientious type like I am, so maybe it won’t be as dramatically helpful to you, as it’s been to me, but what are the circumstances in your life, today, that tend to weigh on you, rob you of the joy and peace that is yours in Christ Jesus?
As I’ve been going through my day, I find myself saying to myself, “Not my problem, not my job: God’s problem, God’s job.” Or shorter, “Not my problem, not my job.” If you’re struggling to rest in Jesus in light of all you face right now, try it. So what is my job? As CluelessSheepDave, my job is to be curious and expectant to see what my Shepherd will do next: how He will lead me. And when I struggle to do my job, to be curious and expectant, all I need to do, is confess my sin of unbelief in Him and His promises to work ALL things together for my good, and His glory.
Satan wants me to believe, that I’m supposed to be in charge of my life, supposed to be responsible for all that I face, supposed to make a difference, supposed to know how to engineer happiness for myself and those I love. Wrong. I was not created independent, but dependent. I’m CluelessSheepDave in my saner moments. ShepherdDave, in my less-sane ones.
Okay, Dave but what about being responsible, when it’s clear God’s called me to something? Well, if it’s God’s job, not my job, I won’t be all weirded and worried by it, and I won’t have the kind of ownership that causes me devastation when I fail: I’ll be relaxed, curious, expectant, and if things don’t go my way, the way I want them to go, think they ought to go, I’ll find it interesting, not devastating.
–CluelessSheepDave, asking for more prayer, to live as a clueless sheep, so he’ll have a healthy indifference to all the things that charm him most, including ministry, money, health, family, so the nonbelievers around him will be wowed by his joy and peace, and want what he has (please pray now)