I was in a conversation the other day with someone.  We were in the process of discerning whether to proceed with a rather major endeavour or postpone.  A lot of work and planning had gone into it to that point, but there were significant hurdles increasingly coming into play, most importantly time constraints on people’s schedules that had not been expected when we had first developed this.  As the conversation progressed, I realized that this could go one of two ways:  we could push through, somehow, and probably leave people feeling ragged, and even a little bruised under the weight of having to live up to something in order to “come through for the team”; or we could postpone and take time to listen to what God might be saying that we hadn’t yet heard.

We chose the latter course, wanting to uphold the honor and dignity of each person who would be impacted.  We agreed that pushing through would ultimately raise the question of competence or commitment, and neither question had a valid place in this scenario.  We each had simply been inundated by claims on our time that we could never have foreseen.

As I processed this conversation and many more that would follow to finalize the decision, it struck me that there are times that no matter what you do, no matter how careful, competent or committed you are, no matter how good it all looks on paper, it will not work.  I have been reading in Proverbs and then Ecclesiastes.  It seems appropriate to read many times that we can have all of our plans but ultimately, the LORD directs our steps, he decides what will happen and when, and he decides what will be successful and what will not. 

We are encouraged to sow our seed in the morning and not be idle in the evening for we do not know which one will bring success or whether both will.  In other words, try things – sometimes those things will work and sometimes they won’t.  Don’t get locked in on one thing and then measure yourself by whether it works or not.

In the world we measure people by what they accomplish.  From God’s perspective, there are no guarantees.  I actually find that really freeing.  It frees me from having to figure out God’s will; from having to figure out that one thing that will work.  It frees me to try things without worrying about whether or not it will succeed; it’s not my competence or commitment that will be in question. 

The real questions are do I trust God enough to try different things regardless of the outcomes, believing He will lead through all kinds of “successes” and “failures” in order to reveal His provision, grace and mercy in abundance. 

Do I trust God enough to believe that I am not called to a life of “accomplishments” but rather to a life of surrender and love, overflowing to the protection of honour and dignity in the lives of those I influence, letting God decide the outcomes.