Participating in Wholeness

Nowhere in the Bible do we find the old adage, “God helps those who help themselves.” Nowhere do we see that we are the instigator of the miraculous changes in our lives. Yet, without our vital participation, God can do nothing for us. So what is God’s work, and what is our own?

There is a very delicate balance to our wellness. The church says it’s in looped prayers from pithy platitudes. The world says it’s in self-help books or inside of myself, and God says that it is in him that we find and lose it all.

Participating in our wholeness is simpler than it sounds because we aren’t responsible for much of anything outside of consent and surrender. Initially, permission tends to be easy. We reach out, we spread ourselves upon the altar, but like the unpredictable ocean waters that we are, we pull back as much as we can when we feel that the ask is simply too much. Surrendering is a bullet to the will, a grave of self that often feels an impossible task.

The delicate balance ends with this simple equation - seek and you will find, knock and he will answer. Our contribution is not self-making, it’s proximity; closeness to the One who sees into the depths of who we are, turns our darkness around on us, and uses it as a tool of re-creation. We are not responsible for our resurrection - the magic that flowers the seed into fruit, that evolves a germinated seed into the universe of an entire person in 40 weeks. The one who works behind the scenes, who keeps the candles lit, and tills the soil of our hearts. Wholeness is not ours to give, but ours to receive.

The rest of the journey is a beautiful monotony that gently rocks you in the right direction. Light the candle, and he will be in your midst. Say the prayer and he will hear. Prostrate yourself and he will draw near. Humble yourself and he will raise you up in His tenderness. Curse the skies and he will be there to comfort you. Lean into His ways and you will be renewed into an entirely new beast simply because you said yes, moment by holy moment.