Not My Problem

Sometimes we as Christians put an unnecessary pressure to perform on ourselves.  We feel like we must be some sort of "super Christian," solving people's problems, feeding the world, and converting every non-believer we know.  However, just as nothing we do will make God love us less, nothing we do will make Him love us more.

Tomorrow, I will be giving the "sermon" or "talk" for our youth group with one of my friends.  Usually, this would be a stressful task for me: while I do not fear public speaking, I always felt that it was my responsibility to get my message across in a effective and powerful way.  Recently, this has changed.

I have realized that the message I convey is not my message, it's God's message.  Hours before his crucifiction, Jesus promised the disciples the gift of the holy spirit.  When it came a few chapters later in Acts, it gave these ordinary mean the ability to speak truth into other people's lives in their own languages.

Although I have never discovered I can speak a language I did not learn, there have been instances in my life where I realize that the truth I am speaking is hitting home with someone, not because of the way I deliver it, but because of the work God has done in their hearts and minds.

For this reason, I need not feel pressure to give the perfect talk tomorrow, as long as I do my best.  The problems I see in the world, the injustice, the hatred, and the sin, are not things I can even begin to solve in my lifetime and with my influence.  In fact, there not things I should try to rectify of my own accord.  So I'm surrendering, giving up, saying I cannot do this on my own.

Because when I stop trying to do the work of the Holy Spirit, I make room for the Holy Spirit to work through me.