It Doesn't Depend on You

The phone rings. “Can you?” They catch you in the hallway, “Can I meet?” You get the email, “Can I schedule?” Or, perhaps it is more about “Can you help here?” “Can you volunteer just this once?” “Can you provide?” We can screen telemarketers, but we can’t escape the “Can you’s?” of our days.

Let’s face it. We are flooded with requests…for appointments, for giving the time and money God has trusted to our care, for helping. And, I want to help everywhere. I want to be a foster parent. I want to be the counselor who dispenses amazing insights. I want to help in the kids program. I want to be at every family event and never miss one Facebook invitation. And, then there are old friends who come into town and the picnic reunion beckons. And, the truth is, too often I want to be the Messiah.

So, in the midst of these competing demands, I hear God’s voice from Acts 18, “David, you can’t do it all. Paul couldn’t do it all, and neither can you.”

Paul was on his way to Jerusalem. He had a layover in Ephesus, on the west coast of what we call Asia Minor, and dropped into the local synagogue for a friendly discussion about the Messiah with the Jewish population of that cosmopolitan city. Acts 18:20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, "I will come back if it is God's will."

Paul had other commitments calling. The ship was sailing. He had to say “Not now.” There are times when we have to be willing to say, “Not yet.” But, who will do it if you don’t? What do you do when a “yes” here means that you break your commitment and say “No” to the other person on your agenda? Too many times I say “Yes” to someone, and at the same time say “No” to the person to whom I’ve already committed that same time. I’m hoping for forgiveness, maybe for a “no show”, or just that they will understand that I’m not the Messiah.

So, if God is calling me elsewhere, as He did Paul, what does He expect me to do with all those requests when I say “Not yet.” Do I just callously walk off and let them fend for themselves? What did Paul do when he had to say “Not yet?”

He recognized that God had provided someone else for this task. In fact, Paul had already arranged for a pair of his disciples, Aquila and Priscilla to stay on in Ephesus (verse 19). He could say, “No” with confidence because he knew God had others in place to do the work.

So, when you can’t be the Messiah, when you have to say, “No”, be aware that God has other disciples He can use. In fact, you might be thinking ahead, trying to pour into disciples' lives so that they will be ready to do what you can’t do. When you have to say, “No, I’m already committed,” think like Paul. Ask someone else to be there in your place.

When I used to greet at the door after a sermon, I’d be torn between the person speaking to me and the new person gliding past ungreeted. I couldn’t listen effectively while I was thinking about the new person. I couldn’t greet the new person while I was listening to the person in front of me. I had to do two things: 1) turn my back on the other people so I could listen (say “yes” to them); 2) trust that the others around me would catch God’s heart for the stranger and connect with them.

After all, it doesn’t depend on you. It depends on Him.