The Pastor's Page - 4/29/09
Putting the Answer in the Lord's Hands
One of the greatest challenges faced by Christians throughout the ages is that of evaluating and governing our motives. Why we do what we do and why we want it done to begin with are the questions which are always before us. . Suffering complicates this struggle. When faced with a burdening difficulty why are we asking for relief? Is it because we think we should be exempt from suffering in general as believers, or is it a sincere longing of greater merit?
In times like these a phrase is uttered by sincere believers everywhere. While in the midst of struggle and heartache, when our strength fades we try our hand at surrender by saying “ I've put it in the Lord's hands.” Yet so often this seems to make no difference in the day to day life of the person. They worry as much as before and seem frustrated with God's failure to act. After all we reason I've put it in the Lord's hands, so something should be changing here.
What such an attitude fails to see is that what we have put in the Lord's hands is the problem and not the answer. We have given God the problem but we are still expecting the same results - our answer, our way. What we wanted from God when we gave Him our concerns about that wayward young person is an Apostle Paul like conversion during the next service. What we wanted from God regarding that financial battle was a mysterious check in the mail the next day like the prosperity teachers herald. What we wanted from the physical battle was instantaneous healing. We really haven't surrendered it to the Lord until we are content to wait for His answer instead of demanding ours.
To truly succeed at putting in the Lord's hands we have to put the answer and the timing of the answer in the Lord's hands as well. Anything less is just one more example of our attempts at playing God. It is an insistence that we know what is best and God should get on board our plan and catch up with our vision. Yet if we have the strength to embrace it, this could be the very reason why God's answer hasn't shown up yet. Honestly now, if God did everything the way we think it should be done wouldn't we take the credit for it? And wouldn't it move us one more step closer to the view that God is nothing more than an errand boy dutifully fulfilling His tasks.
The best answer, the only one which will bring full relief, is the one God comes up with, not the one we imagine will suffice. So if putting the problem in the Lord's hands hasn't brought you relief yet, maybe you should examine whether you have put the answer in the Lord's hands as well.
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