May 25, 2020

"The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, 'The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.'"
Psalm 92:12-15
"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose."
Philippians 2:12-13

It was a great relief to me when I discovered that I’m not clever or competent enough to accomplish anything that will produce what only God can do. I used to come up with great ideas for projects to work on, believing that if I just planned, organized and recruited the right people, I could do anything. Now I realize that my primary responsibility is to abide in Christ and bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. I still work on projects but now my objectives are different. I can observe Him working in the midst of an activity and even if the intended goal isn’t reached, His peace, love and joy manifesting in the process are what makes it a success. So many things that I used to think were important are now meaningless because they no longer have any attraction from within me.