Survival Not Important
by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 03/28/2007 at 2:52 PM
Last year I was co-leading a drama ministry at my church. After nine months of creating and performing original dramas, a series of events, along with the Holy Spirit's nudge, convinced us the group should not continue. My co-leader and I agreed to pray about the decision for several weeks; we were hesitant to let go of something we had innovated that had become so successful (i.e. popular). After several weeks of prayer, the Lord made it clear that the group needed to end. Within a month of calling in quits, circumstances confirmed that the decision had been the right one. The Lord also provided new and vital ministries for me and my co-leader.
At Desiring God, Bethlehem Baptist's executive pastor, Sam Crabtree, meditates on why survival isn't important. He advocates holding loosely to our dreams and ministries, and focusing instead on being the people God has called us to be.
On occasion I have said to the staff and elders that I don’t care whether Bethlehem goes out of existence, if in order to survive we become the wrong Bethlehem. If we can first settle the issue of what God wants us to be, who we are, what we are, what we believe and stand for (because we must), survival becomes secondary. If we survive, we survive. If we perish, we perish. If we grow, we grow. If we diminish, we diminish. To settle the issue of survival is freedom!
I heard a lyric yesterday from the Superchick song Beauty from Pain, that mirrored this idea:
And then the darkness surrounds me
I know I'm alive
But I feel like I've died
And all that's left is to accept that it's over
My dreams ran like sand through the fist that I made
How often have I held onto something, only to stand by helplessly as I watched it slip away. If I had just handed it to the Lord in the first place, I would have been free. Crabtree says:
The battle is the Lord’s. But if we choose to make the battle ours, and choose to make survival the goal of the battle, then we start to figure the angles, make subtle accommodations, compromise here and there, demote moral conviction, and do anything to win, to survive. What we need is a fundamental shift in the center of gravity in our lives from focusing on survival of ourselves to glorifying God, even in death.
Fighting for survival against God's will wastes precious energy and resources. Open your fist and watch God work.
HT: Justin Taylor
1. Mandi said the following at 3:32 PM on Mar 28:
Yes, having such an attitude of not holding on tightly to our plans/dreams would make it easier for more women to feel they weren't "losing" anything by staying home with their kids!
2. Jacob said the following at 5:03 PM on Mar 28:
This is a very good point. At the end of my sophomore year in college, I went through a small group leader's training program through our campus ministry. I was surprised, but really appriciated that they reminded us that our small groups would come to an end, and that it was ok.
On a bigger scale, I believe it is important to remember this in the context of the church. Many people today think they have to "market" the church and Christianity and make it "appeal" to people to keep or attract them. Simply put, sometimes it's ok for a church size to decrease.
It is better to suffer for doing God, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.
3. Chris B. said the following at 6:38 PM on Mar 28:
I am seeing the wisdom in these words more clearly as I move closer to graduation, and as I begin to search for post-graduation employment.
The Lord and His will should be our focus, not success or dreams for their own sake.
4. JenR said the following at 8:51 AM on Mar 29:
A timely post, as I am part of a music group that is poised to "become something greater" than we originally planned (but not originally dreamed!). Even so, I feel compelled to fight each step of the way, reminding everyone (myself included!) Who it is that has given us these opportunities and what our core is -- and always should be (worship).
Although it is exciting to lead up a band and have opportunities to play coffeehouses, festivals, and other public venues -- it is difficult to let go of the dream of "rock star" and instead say "Thy will be done."
It is also certainly difficult for this control freak to admit that the band doesn't need her, but instead I have given an opportunity to serve at this moment in time. Yet once I (and the others) loosen my (and our) grasp of dreams and hopes and plans for the band...
...we discover that God truly works in ways we never would have fathomed. All of our hours of practice (aka "fighting for survival")are nothing if we do not allow God to be the Leader. Believe me. This has been tested.
Perhaps in a few years (or months) we will be called to disband (haha!). But hopefully, since we are fighting to keep our humility and God-centredness, it will only seem natural.
After all, it is futile to stick it out after a God-stamped expiration date. Even if it still looks good.
Thanks for the reminder, and for the encouragment to keep focused (and fist-free).
5. Esther said the following at 10:49 AM on Mar 29:
This is such a critical concept that I've seen Christians struggle with a lot. Sometimes the ministries and organizations take on lives of their own, and we end up sacrificing people (unique, special people that Christ died for) in our attempts to keep some "mission" going. I've been in groups that were essentially redundant and unproductive, but there were loyalties that wanted to keep things going, even when the original purpose and good was essentially lost. Certainly, we should work at the things God gives us to do with all our strength, but when the job is done, it may be time to let it go and move on. For a very personal example: Boundless started as a college ministry, but then the people behind it felt that their focus was moving to post-college, and another site took the college spot. How destructive would it have been for individuals to say, "Boundless is for college, and college only, we won't change!" As an extension, if in the future, the usefulness of Boundless were found to be lagging; and after prayer and attempts to improve, there just wasn't the interest, would the organizers be ready to let it go with grace and look to the next challenge?
6. Zeph Greenwell said the following at 10:50 AM on Mar 29:
We always seem to feel that it is God's responisibilty to bring us into a successful operation and our resposibility to keep us there. I like this post because it reminds us that God sustains us and when he says its over letting go is not a bad thing.
7. Aranel Alasse said the following at 11:54 AM on Mar 29:
I recall going through an experience that taught me this very thing, back when I was in High School.
I was probably the type of person who was rarely noticed (a bit of a wallflower, you might say), and for the most part, I liked it that way (fewer social problems to deal with, overall), but I still wanted people to think I was special in some way. I was pretty smart, academically, but since people didn't really know me, they didn't realize that. I wanted to be known as a "smart person". I wanted to be acknowledged for that and looked up to because of it.
In the meantime, I had learned certain computer skills alongside my best friend, and we both recognized that I had a knack for computers. So my next hope in the being-known-as-a-smart-person dream, was to be known as a "computer person". But in the end, it was my best friend who received the acknowledgement and praise for being a "computer person", and I felt like the chance at that title (and the chance at being known as a "smart person") had been cruelly taken away from me. I was devastated.
Finally, I cried out to God: "I want to be known for something that NO ONE can take away!" And it struck me that the only thing no one could take away was God himself. And you know what? It's really a load off your shoulders when you know that the only thing you really care about will always be there, and NO ONE can EVER change that. :)
It was an amazing, refreshing, yet devastating thing to learn. But God is GENTLE and MERCIFUL, and He doesn't let us down. :) It's a continual task to surrender my dreams to God (which, when you think about it is really just surrendering your dreams in exchange for God! So it's a wonderful thing!). But my hope is in God. I haven't lost anything! I've only gained a deeper reliance on God. He's essential to me, now, and I can't live without him.
When I keep my focus on God --my deepest, most desperate longings-- focused on being filled by God, then I don't mind what else God does in my life. I might be know for this or that, but it doesn't really matter to me now, and I hold those titles loosely, because they can blow away in the smallest wind.
(...Of course, I'm sure I can't really say I've learned the whole lesson yet, because it's really an issue of idolatry, which humans struggle with continually...)
If anyone needs further encouragement, go listen to "Surrender" by Downhere.
8. Suzanne said the following at 1:38 PM on Mar 29:
Aranel,
Thank you for your transparency! Your story reminded me of Psalm 79:9: "Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake."
It's so tempting to do even "good" things with the hope of making a name for ourselves. I'm thankful for the times the Lord has humbled me when I've adopted this mindset. And perhaps that is why He allows painful times, where we must crucify our own will. Only then do I remember for WHOSE glory I live.