Like all Christians, I am learning more and more about the Christian dichotomy as I live this life.
On the one hand, we rest confidently in Christ’s provision for us and acknowledge that unless he builds the house, the workman labors in vain.
But on the other hand, we have to work hard at what He has given us to do. The work in front of us is often pressing, sometimes urgent, and can be extremely stressful.
We work hard every single day, not lounging about in laziness but persevering in difficult tasks… yet we aren’t to worry or fret. We’re to leave the results of our work entirely to God.
We have to deal with problems. We aren’t to bury our heads in the sand, throw up our hands, and say, “Nevermind: it’s God’s problem; I refuse to do anything.”
Yet in spite of all that daily toil, we are to wait patiently with open hands for God to give us what we need.
Sometimes, if I’m honest, the Christian life makes me want to scream in frustration. I’d rather sit back, do nothing, and “trust it’ll all work out,” leaving the work entirely undone, or else work extremely hard and try to ensure the results I desire happen as I wish them to happen. It’s all or nothing for me.
But this Christian life… this simultaneous dichotomy… is somehow a blessing, and my soul knows this to be true. Sometimes I only reach this balance for a few seconds at a time, but when I do, I feel free and yet productive. Busy but unfettered by worry or the need to control the future.
I think this is one of the major life lessons God is trying to teach me amidst all the chaos of the last few weeks. I am in a period of life when I don’t know where I’ll be living in a month’s time, or how anything will work out in my future. I don’t know what our new city (or new state, for that matter) will be like, what problems we will face, who we will meet, or even where we will do our shopping. I’m not sure how I’ll endure the long winters there, or where our church will be. It’s all unknown and clearly in God’s hands, and yet I have a million things to do in preparation for our move.
My lesson right now is: Rest in God and do the work before you with energy and eagerness.
May God help each of us as we learn the Christian Dichotomy.
