Waiting on the "logic of events"

William E. Moody

Someone's job is threatened by a company reorganization or by industry-wide layoffs; another's career progress is blocked by prejudice, jealousy, or sexual harassment; an owner of a small business is struggling to keep his head above water in the face of rising credit obligations and possible bankruptcy. In such trying situations, people may understandably be confronted with fears and may even despair of finding a way through the ordeal. Some might come to the conclusion that only through a great effort of human will can proper solutions be found.

On the one hand, a sense of despair would keep the individual from accomplishing necessary goals and meeting responsibilities. Despair can even advance the very circumstances one fears. On the other hand, human will runs the risk of accomplishing the wrong ends by way of employing the wrong means. Human will asserts that if only we keep pushing hard enough and long enough, we can somehow manage to make everything right—that we can eventually make happen whatever needs to happen to hold on to our job, advance our career, save our business.

It's obvious that despair doesn't hold out a satisfactory answer to these personal challenges. But it may not always be so obvious at first that human will isn't really satisfactory either. No matter how great one's own expertise or personal abilities, human will is ultimately limited in scope, outlook, perspective, and capacity. Human will, of itself, doesn't recognize the divine will and thus can completely miss the blessing that follows from trusting wholeheartedly in God to meet whatever difficult circumstance we may encounter.

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