This has been a messy year. You don’t need me to list all the reasons why. You were there. You know that no matter how messy things get, I’m going to keep saying it—Jesus is real. Not only is he real, he is actively involved in the events of our lives, and we forget that, especially when things are messy.
Today, I want to say a word to my fixers, the cleaner-uppers living in this messy life, those of us who want to make the world a better place. In one way or another, that’s all of us. We want to see our world healed. We want to see our loved ones happy, healthy, and safe. We look at everything going on, and we want to make it better. And this year has given a lot of us itchy fix-it fingers.
But today, I want to let you off the hook. You might not even realize that you’re on the hook, but allow me to extend this friendly reminder:
God does not expect you to fix everything.
Many of us are feeling helpless as we look at our hurting, broken world. We feel a burden to heal and to fix.
As someone who loves to make things better, this is something the Lord has had to teach me. It’s not my job to fix everything. My job is do what I’m supposed to do. Let me explain what I mean. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, creates a beautiful picture of how we are supposed to function.
“Now you are the body of Christ,
And each one of you is a part of it.”
1 Corinthians 12:27
Jesus is the head of his Church. We were never meant to be the whole body. At best, we are one small part of the body. We are not doing anyone any good when we try to fix everything. In fact, it’s the height of human arrogance to assume that we could take on the role of the Healer. There is One Healer, and all his ways are good.
Our job isn’t to freak out and grasp for control and fix everything. Our job is to simply play the role that God designed us to play.
Isn’t that freeing?
Just take a step back and imagine what it would feel like to live your life that way. Imagine if you could enter into every situation, with the mindset of simply doing what God created you to do. You would live your life with more clarity, more focus, and more freedom.
What is overwhelming you today? Where are you clinging to the idea of control? What can you release to the Lord? You don’t have to fix the mess, you just have to trust the One who can. You can trust that he placed you here to play a small part and that he’s got other people ready to play their parts. As God works in each of us, things get done.
Living this way isn’t just an act of release, it’s an act of worship.
I know that your life is messy. You probably have a list of things pulling your attention from this post right now. There are tasks you need to accomplish, people you need to check in with, but before you give into the urge to fix it all, sit with the Lord. Ask him to show you what your role is. Ask him to teach you who he created you to be. Then trust him with the rest.