From Love Has a Face by Michele Perry- (Above picture: Michele holding one of her 80 kids in Sudan.)
“I asked Jesus what I needed to do. What should I do, Lord, in the face of what looks and feels some days like standing nose to nose with a thousand-foot-high tidal waves of darkness? What should I do in the face of overwhelming need and a dwindling bank account?
His reply: Let go.
Let go of what Lord?
Let go of the need to be responsible.
What a shocker. Ever since my coignitive understanding began to form, everything in the world told me to be responsible. It was how I was raised . It was how I looked to myself. It was how I looked at ministry…..I was created to live in relationship with Papa, Jesus and the Holy Spirit that was based on response-ability. I was called to live in a place that enabled me to respond to His promptings. You might call it trust. I am not responsible for what He calls me into; I am simply to be response-able in the midst of His call” (p.196,197).
I read these words last night and couldn’t wait to get up this morning to share them with you. Response-able. It’s a word of freedom. It’s a word of God’s power released in my life rather than my tiny, pitiful power struggling to get things done.
Before the writers conference I attended in May, I drove myself and my family crazy trying to get the most perfect words on my book proposals. I worried, and cried, and worked for hours at a time on my computer clearing my calendar to do just that. I felt it was the “responsible” thing to do. I am glad I got it done, but the truth is, not one of the editors or agents I saw wanted to take the proposal with them. They wanted it e-mailed. Do you know how many trees I killed printing off proposals to edit and final copies of proposals to give away?
I was trying to be responsible. Trying.
I want to live response-able! I want to live so in tuned with the Lord that I respond to Him rather than react to the circumstances around me. I’m not sure what that will look like. But I’m ready to give it a try. I think it starts with time with Him just listening and asking for His guidance before I react to the situation at hand.
May I pray for us? “Oh Papa, we love you. We are your girls. We want to be your mighty servants. We want to usher in the Kingdom of God, but we know we can’t do it in our strength and admist our troubles. Change our way of thinking. Release us from false pride and responsibility. Our lives, our ministries, our families are yours. We trust you. Help us respond rather than react. Help us be respons-able rather than responsible. Thank you Jesus, amen.”
much love,
andy
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3)
