You Are Allowed to Have Room

There can be a strange discomfort in having room.

An unscheduled afternoon.

A responsibility that no longer belongs to us.

A problem we have decided not to solve.

A request we could accommodate but choose not to.

Space can quickly produce another question:

What should I do with it?

We are accustomed to thinking of stewardship as making good use of everything we have.

Time.

Ability.

Opportunity.

Resources.

Influence.

But faithful stewardship does not necessarily mean maximum use.

Even creation contains rhythm.

There is work, and there is rest.

There is planting, and there is waiting.

There is gathering, and there is release.

There are fields Scripture instructs people not to harvest completely.

There is Sabbath—a deliberate interruption of productivity.

God does not appear frightened by unfilled space.

Perhaps we do not need to be either.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
— Ecclesiastes 3:1

Having capacity does not automatically create an obligation to spend it.

Having ability does not mean every need belongs to us.

Having room does not mean something is missing.

Sometimes room itself is part of the provision.

It allows us to hear before answering.

To receive before producing.

To discern before committing.

To encounter God without immediately turning the encounter into another assignment.

There may be seasons when faithfulness looks less like adding and more like leaving enough room to recognize what God is actually asking of us.

Reflection

Where have I mistaken available room for an obligation to fill it?