Difficult Project

Isaiah 2 (NLT)

11The day is coming when your pride will be brought low and the LORD alone will be exalted. 12In that day the LORD Almighty will punish the proud, bringing them down to the dust. 13He will cut down the tall cedars of Lebanon and the mighty oaks of Bashan. 14He will level the high mountains and hills. 15He will break down every high tower and wall. 16He will destroy the great trading ships and all the small boats in the harbor. 17The arrogance of all people will be brought low. Their pride will lie in the dust. The LORD alone will be exalted! 18Idols will be utterly abolished and destroyed.

Work has been hard these few weeks. I have so many problems with my project: the data are messy; I made many mistakes; the person who helped me also made many mistakes. It's been a difficult project all along. But nothing is worse than the final 10% which is so hard to finish. Everytime I think I made a step closer to the finish line, I discovered more problems that would push it 3 steps farther away. In the past month, I almost have given up hope on finishing it.

Yesterday I had another desparate encounter with this project. It really brought me to my knees and asked Jesus for help. And He did! Within an afternoon I could slowly put the pieces together. And I left my work quite happily afterwards.

When I read the passage this morning relating to the arrogance of human in their endeavor and projects, I realized that I didn't give thanks to Jesus after He helped me. When I searched deep into my heart for the reason of not giving thanks, I was quite shocked to find that I basically believe I can do it myself: God is just a shortcut to my solution but if I endure I will find the solution myself. I subtly ignored God's providence and credited myself indeed. That's arrogance and haughtiness of men, which will be brought low along with their projects on the day of judgment.

Sometimes I really don't know why I work. What are the purposes? I guess learning these lessons is part of them. But after a while it's hard to maintain the focus of doing it undo the Lord, especially when we become good at work. Instead, we inject pride and selfishness into the core of our work. I am thankful that God brought it to my attention once again.

-RL-