A few weeks back, my friend Brad told a story that made a big impression on me. He gave me permission to write about what he shared. He described how back in his years in the military, he was part of the crew on a Navy Destroyer. Brad’s job on the ship had something to do with spending nearly all his time deep inside the ship, following orders related to turning a crank that controlled the speed of the ship. Or maybe it was the direction of the ship. For the point I’m hoping to make, it doesn’t really matter.
From his position inside this massive ship, there was no way Brad could see the outside world. He couldn’t know anything about the thought process that led to the specifics of each command. He couldn’t know how well his ship was accomplishing its mission at any given moment. Heck, there were probably days where he couldn’t even tell he was in a boat or fighting a war. All he could do was turn those cranks, trusting that the orders were coming from someone who knew what he was doing, and following those orders as well as he possibly could. As he told the story, he held up his hand and made the tiniest possible circle with his thumb and forefinger, and said, “I had a job to do and I could only see this much of what was going on around me.”
This idea of doing what we do and trusting that it matters, realizing that we might never really know how our efforts made a difference really struck me. I’ve never spent a minute in the belly of a military ship, but I do know how it feels to work hard at life with no guarantees with regard to outcomes. I also know how it feels to buy into a vision for greatness and to watch that greatness unfold over a period of many years, as other committed people buy in as well and work to accomplish things together. I know how it feels to try and inspire people under my direction to see something beyond their own present circumstances and comfort level to strive for a cause greater than themselves.
And I’m learning more and more how little I really have control over, and how limited my ability really is to see and understand what God is doing in people’s lives. I can only see this much, while He sees it all infinitely perfectly, and is calling the shots while I’m simply trying my best to learn, grow, trust and obey well.