Entrusting a project to God: write it down, name your fears, hand it over
A project can be a piece of work to turn in, a move, starting a business, a renovation, a ministry, a wedding to prepare. It occupies the mind and generates both enthusiasm and anxiety. This weekly quest invites you to a specific gesture: write down your project along with your worries, then explicitly hand it over to God.
What it looks like in your day
Choose a project. Just one, the one that weighs most on you these days or that is closest to your heart.
Write it down. On one page, five headings:
- The project in one sentence. "Open my little online shop before September."
- What I hope for. The deeper aim, beyond the result.
- What worries me. Each fear, precisely: money, time, other people's reactions, failure.
- What depends on me. The concrete actions to take this week.
- What doesn't depend on me. Circumstances, other people's decisions, the unexpected.
Hand it over. You read the page before God: "Lord, here is my project. I do my part, I hand the rest over to you. May your will be done." You can lay your hand on the sheet.
Choose the first action. Just one, simple, for this week.
Come back to the page every week. Add what has changed, what you have seen, what you are entrusting again.
The goal is not to lose interest, but to work without anxiety: you do your part, you leave the rest. You can also invite a friend to pray for your project.
If you are in a hurry, three headings are enough: project, fears, handing over. If you are shy, this gesture is entirely private. If your project is a shared one, do it with those who are part of it.
What the Bible says
The psalmist invites us to commit our way to God:
“Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
"Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass": the verb "commit" evokes the idea of placing something in safe hands. The book of Proverbs says the same thing about plans: "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established" (Proverbs 16:3). Psalm 127 sets the limit of our efforts:
“A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”
"Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it": this doesn't mean not to build, but to build with him. James adds that we ought to say "If the Lord will" (James 4:13-15).
Pitfalls to avoid
Entrusting without working. Handing a project over to God doesn't excuse you from acting. Your part remains your part.
Entrusting while keeping control. "Lord, here is my project, make it succeed exactly as I planned" is not a handing over. Be ready for God to change it.
Judging yourself when the worry returns. It will return. Reread your page, say your handing over again.
Neglecting advice. Talk about your project with trusted people. Handing it over to God doesn't rule out human wisdom.
Idolizing the project. If your project fills your whole mind, ask God to give it back its proper place.
This week, choose a project. Write it down with its fears, then hand it over to God.