One of the most important truths for Christians living and working in the church scattered is to know on any given day what we should be doing, while at the same time trusting the Father to do only what He can do. This partnership means we must avoid both extremes by working on what we can, while waiting by faith for His perfect timing.
One extreme is that we work on trying to change things that are really either outside our control or are not biblically our responsibility. This extreme of our trying to fix everything is driven in reality by our fear and desire to be in control.
This can result in pushing too hard in your marriage or parenting and it can destroy relationships for life. When we are too driven at work, we try to force results without thinking about the cost to other people involved. Bottom line, when you are this driven you are trusting yourself more than you are trusting God.
The other extreme is when we almost take the approach that since the Father is going to take care of me, I can simply pray and eventually He will come through with changing my husband or getting me that new job. It sounds so spiritual but in reality it is the unwillingness to do what I should be doing to change myself and assume personal responsibility for my life.
The law of the harvest is the perfect biblical explanation of both our roles. We are to work by plowing, sowing and then finally watering with our prayers knowing all along that only He can bring the harvest. Work on what you should be doing and pray about the rest and never confuse the two.
All of this is extremely relevant to our current situation because we are not going back to the old normal. I dare not pray and ask the Father to take all of this chaos away, when He is using it to reach thousands of people for Christ. The New Normal will more than ever require me to live everyday as an all in Christian, while patiently waiting on His perfect timing for the completion of His work of redemption and restoration.