Hands Off

Perhaps it’s only natural to want to complete a task, to see it through from start to finish. At least it is for me. I get such satisfaction from accomplishing things. It’s like putting a big check against the Bucket List of life: another wish taken care of, another task crossed off. When the finale is delayed, however, I am suspended in mid air, as if hit by an eternal pause button and frozen on a large screen TV, arm upraised, mouth half open and body poised for action.

Prayer is one of those open ended events that doesn’t have a clear cut ending. We often see bits and pieces of the answer, but the whole picture is usually murky and our part is the only thing illuminated. God uses us to advance an outcome, but doesn’t usually explain the game plan or show us where we fit into its unfolding. We are caught in mid stride when the ball is thrown to someone else and we must wait until the play call is back in our section of the field - if it ever is. This is a difficult feeling to process.

God uses each of us - to say, to do, to pray whatever is needed at the moment, but we may not have the final word. All we can hope is that we played our part well and set up the next step in the process. We are not responsible for the outcome, just the ongoing of it. And yes, this is a difficult feeling to process.

There's an optical illusion plaque in our house that when looked at correctly spells out J-E-S-U-S. I was looking at it the other night when apparently I moved my eyes from the foreground to the background and Jesus disappeared. Isn't that a good metaphor for what happens in prayer? At times, God can seem so present and then at others, so absent. My experience with the hidden word reminded me that unless I keep my eyes focused on God, God will seem to be gone from my life.

It is so easy to lose focus when the answer to prayer seems to be delayed. Because nothing seems to be happening, our eyes wander and we feel so small, our problem appears to be so large and God seems so disinterested. Perhaps the answer is being worked out elsewhere and our only task is to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and believe in His love.

J-E-S-U-S. The Word is always there. Where are we?