Giving Up

I have this mentality in ministry sometimes that everything relies on me. I think that my talks have to have just the right words, or the prayer service has to have just the right elements to stir emotion or whatever it may be. I get caught in this trap of thinking my work is what is going to cause people to give their life to Christ.

Yes, sometimes God uses our hands and feet to move hearts and change lives. But it is ALWAYS by God’s grace.

The truth is that you and I cannot save people.

No matter how hard we try or how much we want to, we are not saviors. We cannot make people believe in Jesus. We cannot make people turn away from their sin. We cannot make people stop harming themselves. We cannot rescue people drowning in depression.

So give up.

And trust Jesus.

When I was a lifeguard a few summers ago, I was taught to look for people in the water whose bodies were vertical with hands in the air. This posture of hands raised is a sign that the person has given up; they can no longer help themselves and they need saving.

We meet people like this in our lives. They are tired of the struggle. They’ve given in, turning to something or someone to save them. Sometimes they turn to Jesus. Sometimes they don’t.

When we encounter these people, our job is not to pull them out of the water. Sometimes these people don’t even want to be saved. No, our job is to point them to the Lifeguard, the only One who can save them. It is God who saves. He’s the one jumping into the depths to save us. Just as He dove into our humanity and gave up everything as a ransom for our lives, He continues to save us every day that we let Him.

This is the posture we should take as well: hands raised to God, giving up. Surrender. It is only then when we give up the struggle and stop flailing around and gasping for breath that we can allow ourselves to be held by our Father.

I’m not saying that we should give up ministering to others and supporting our brothers and sisters in Christ. What I’m saying is that we first must surrender ourselves in order to lead others to Christ. When we are sold out to Christ, ready to do whatever He asks however He wants, it is then that He can use us in His divine plan. We can do nothing on our own. Our job is to be open to Christ. It is then that He can bring us into moments and opportunities to ignite change in others, through His grace and love.

For our part, we are called to be the perfect vessel; clean and open, striving to be as free from sin as possible and open to listening to promptings of the Holy Spirit.

The hard part is that even if we do everything God asks of us and speak every word He gives us, we will still see others drowning. Because of sin and our free will, there will always be people who refuse to be saved. It is then that we must trust in God the most, remembering that we are only a piece in the puzzle of salvation.

It is the union of our open hearts and God’s loving will that brings about the Kingdom here on earth. Give up the struggle of trying to save everyone on your own, and allow yourself to sink in the ocean of His grace.