Lois Flowers

Inside:  When we release our current best out into the world, we may open ourselves up to doubt and rejection, but also to the freedom to trust God with the results, whatever they may be. ~

After years of work (and second-guessing), I took a deep breath and hit the “send” button on an email.

I’d done my best on a project near and dear to my heart, and now it was out of my hands.

I thought back to a moment, many months earlier. I was standing at my kitchen island, where I carry out many of my household tasks, when a phrase slipped into my mind.

“Put your offering on the altar.”

Instant Clarity

The moment I heard it, I knew exactly what it meant.

I knew what my offering was, and I knew where the altar was.

As I wrote here, I also understood the deeper meaning.

Once an offering is laid on an altar, what happens next is not our responsibility. We are the offerers, not the fire producers.

The Great Unknown

When we put our offering, whatever it is, on the altar, we open ourselves up to a world of potentially scary possibilities. Rejection. What-ifs. The unknown.

But we also fling the door wide to freedom. Freedom to trust God with the results, knowing His plans and purposes are good and will never fail.

We are not the first people, in the entire course of history, who have placed offerings on an altar without knowing the outcome.

Biblical Examples

The Old Testament patriarch Abraham comes to mind, trekking up the mountain with Isaac, knowing full well that God had told him to lay his only son on the altar. Or Elijah, who had the audacity—in front of hundreds of false prophets—to dump water all around the altar before calling down the fire of heaven to consume his sacrifice.

In both cases, these men presented their offering knowing it could lead to death—for themselves or a loved one.

I’m not comparing us to them or our situations to theirs. But the same God who guided their steps is also guiding ours. That’s a mind-blowing thought, isn’t it?

Our Offerings

Sometimes our offering is our daily work—whatever God has called us to do in whatever season of life we’re in. Mothering, caregiving, teaching, homemaking, fulfilling some kind of professional role.

Each day, we carry out our responsibilities as best we can, relying on God for the strength and wisdom to do it well.

Other times, particularly during seasons of transition, we might not be exactly sure what we are supposed to be doing. We might have an idea—a plan, a dream, a desire. It might have to do with “the ache [we] can’t get rid of,” as author Susan Cain and writer John P. Weiss describe it.

Dealing with Doubts

We proceed one step at a time, sometimes with a strong sense of direction, sometimes not. But even when we feel we are being led down a specific path, doubts can creep in.

What if we heard the still small Voice wrong? What if our best isn’t good enough? How long is this going to take? What if it never happens?

Here’s what I know to be true. We don’t operate in a vacuum. Each of us is part of a greater story, a piece of a bigger puzzle.

We often don’t know the grand design, how we fit in or what the end result will be. Chances are, whatever happens next won’t look exactly like what we expect or imagine.

Like it or not, this is how life works.

Not Good Enough?

Also, if our best doesn’t appear to be good enough—if we’re overlooked or not picked or out outright rejected—it’s not because we’re not good enough.

It’s because whatever we offered wasn’t right, at that time, for whomever we offered it to.

It’s like I tell my soon-to-be college graduate daughter when she interviews for a job and gets the dreaded “we’ve decided to go in another direction” email.

“Then that’s not the job for you, my dear.”

The Best Response

Ironically (or perhaps not), the same message also applies to me, in this new season of figuring out what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. And maybe to you too.

The only response, as we take tentative or bold steps forward, is to pray consistently, “May your will be done, not mine.” That last bit is the toughest part, by the way. My will is plenty strong, but holding on too tightly? It only produces anxiety and rarely ends well.

As I’ve shared here and here, God is the one who opens and closes the doors.

The Way Forward

If there is a way forward—for me, for you, for a particular project, job or ministry—He will be the one who makes it happen. In the end, it won’t be solely due to our hustle, our network, our charisma or even our skills.

Those things are important, some more than others. When we reach a crossroads or take a big step, we can’t just sit back and hope things will happen, after all. We have to move forward in the strength that we have, always willing to learn new skills and grow in potentially uncomfortable ways.

Hitting send on that email was just the first step for me. It was a big step, at least in my mind. But before all is said and done, there will probably be a lot more work and many more emails, very much like that first one.

The good news is this. God knows what we need. He will make a way. He will provide.

And however long it takes, however many fits and starts it seems we are having, we get a front-row seat to watch it happen.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.