It is hard to assess possible outcomes in the heat of battle. The heart, no matter what the mind is saying, yelling, or screaming, will only focus on success. One must believe that the collective responses to the challenge will work in order to leap tall buildings and scale impossible mountains. Yet lingering is a thread of doubt. We are never quite sure if we will be successful, if others will recognize our efforts, or even if the process will be valued by those who matter.
I would like to suggest from my experience of this conundrum the following observations.
1. The reasons one takes a decision can never be strictly for the outcome, one must believe in the process itself.
2. Focusing on why and how one does something is a lot better than the “what”
3. Doing the right thing may not be valued or appreciated by all
4. Corporate measure of success have no correlations or links to life success (what makes you successful corporately is probably not related to anything that makes you successful in being a child of God’s)
5. Doing the right thing is always far more difficult than it sounds, especially when others think they know your answers
So where does that leave someone facing the unsolvable? The answers is can be encouraging and discouraging at the same time. We are right were we were before the problem came into focus. We were facing a life of sadness, pain, and ultimate destruction; no hope for saving ourselves. Our efforts will always be insufficient and incomplete.
But there is an outcome that lets everything make sense. If one hold onto God’s end then the measures in between don’t matter! Do the right thing! Let compassion, mercy and acceptance rule! Hold others accountable with love. Strive for results with passionate grace. If others don’t appreciate your efforts, even if one loses in the short term hold onto the promise of John’s words. “Blessed are those who die in the Master from now on; how blessed to die that way!” (Revelation 14.13)
