It's Time
I am often overwhelmed by the extent of the world's troubles and my own faults. Human trafficking, lack of fresh water, starvation, government corruption, caste systems, homelessness, child soldiers, civil wars... the list goes on and on, not to mention my own personal sins. When I'm not worrying about the one, it's usually only because I'm worrying about the other?
How can even begin to fix a world that is so broken?
How can I even begin to fix myself when I am so broken?
I chose to major in International and Community Development because I believed it would give me practical ways to address poverty and the many, complex issues that accompany it. In truth, if there's one lesson I've learned over any other in my first month of college, it's that I cannot even begin to make an impact in the world's issues.
I will never be able to redeem a world this broken.
Thankfully, that's not my responsibility. My heart longs to see justice come to fruition in the lives of those who suffer, but I am lost as to how to begin to help so many of those I see in the world. This past week, someone read to me a verse from Psalm 37: "Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."
In no way does this mean "spend time with God and he will give you what you want." I believe that for those who truly delight in the Lord, His desires will become their desires. They, like Him, will long to see justice for the oppressed and peace for the suffering. But it is God, not man, who will make these desires come true.
Our job is not to fix the world. Our job is to ready and willing servants, so that when God calls us to do something we can go forth and do what He asks. We are only a small part of God's plan, but we need not fear because we can always be assured that God does have a plan. He has promised that one day, He will draw to Him all those who have been wronged and He will "bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes."
Maybe it's time I spend a little less energy worrying about how to fix myself and how to fix the world. Time to give up and admit I cannot do it. Time to spend a little more energy delighting myself in the Lord and eagerly awaiting His direction. Eagerly awaiting the moment when He will say, "It's time."
How can even begin to fix a world that is so broken?
How can I even begin to fix myself when I am so broken?
I chose to major in International and Community Development because I believed it would give me practical ways to address poverty and the many, complex issues that accompany it. In truth, if there's one lesson I've learned over any other in my first month of college, it's that I cannot even begin to make an impact in the world's issues.
I will never be able to redeem a world this broken.
Thankfully, that's not my responsibility. My heart longs to see justice come to fruition in the lives of those who suffer, but I am lost as to how to begin to help so many of those I see in the world. This past week, someone read to me a verse from Psalm 37: "Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."
In no way does this mean "spend time with God and he will give you what you want." I believe that for those who truly delight in the Lord, His desires will become their desires. They, like Him, will long to see justice for the oppressed and peace for the suffering. But it is God, not man, who will make these desires come true.
Our job is not to fix the world. Our job is to ready and willing servants, so that when God calls us to do something we can go forth and do what He asks. We are only a small part of God's plan, but we need not fear because we can always be assured that God does have a plan. He has promised that one day, He will draw to Him all those who have been wronged and He will "bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes."
Maybe it's time I spend a little less energy worrying about how to fix myself and how to fix the world. Time to give up and admit I cannot do it. Time to spend a little more energy delighting myself in the Lord and eagerly awaiting His direction. Eagerly awaiting the moment when He will say, "It's time."
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