“You Lord, Not Me”

May 21, 2025

As I try to lead my family, the church, and the many other areas of my life, I often find myself overwhelmed with the massive number of tasks and responsibilities. I often find myself worrying about what the future holds. Sometimes I amjust tired.

There are times, rather than face all that is in front of me, I run and hide, panic and freeze, or pretend I have plenty oftime putting off until tomorrow what I could get done today. In other words, there are times when I am overwhelmed and fail to act; instead, I stand still.

We all do this. I have seen many people in the churches I have served who fail to serve in the ministry and mission because they are overwhelmed with everything going on in their lives. They are discouraged. They are tired. They miss out on so many blessings when they choose to stand still.

I stand in awe of the great men and women throughout history who have refused to stand still, who kept moving, who got up after they fell, learned from their mistakes and failures, refused to slow down, to stop, to give up. And in refusing to stand still, they changed the world.

When our family traveled out West, one of the places we visited was Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota.

Sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, began work on Mt. Rushmore in 1927.

The workers had to endure conditions that varied from blazing hot to bitter cold and windy. Each day they climbed 700 stairs to the top of the mountain to punch-in on the time clock. Then 3/8-inch-thick steel cables lowered them over thefront of the 500-foot face of the mountain in a "bosun chair".

Ninety percent of the mountain was carved using dynamite. The powdermen would cut and set charges of dynamite ofspecific sizes to remove precise amounts of rock. Dynamite was used until only three to six inches of rock was left to remove to get to the final carving surface. At this point, the drillers and assistant carvers would drill holes into the granite very close together. This was called honeycombing. The closely drilled holes would weaken the granite so it could be removed often by hand.

Gutzon Borglum selected these four presidents because from his perspective, they represented the most important events in the history of the United States.

These leaders also understood where one’s strength comes from.

It is the duty of all nations, to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to begrateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.

-George Washington

Had the doctrines of Jesus been preached always as pure as they came from his lips, the whole civilized world would now have been Christians.

-Thomas Jefferson

No people on earth have more cause to be thankful than ours, and this said reverently, in no spirit ofboastfulness in our own strength, but with gratitude to the Giver of good who has blessed us.

-Teddy Roosevelt

Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.

-Abraham Lincoln

I remember so many instances in my first year of ministry when I was tempted to stop moving forward, tempted tosimply curl up and stand still. I was new to my faith and yet, I was leading others.

I remember my first funeral. I was the third pastor on staff, a student; therefore, any family who did not have a churchneeded a pastor for a funeral got me. My first funeral was with a three-month old baby, open casket. At the time, my son, Nate, was only about a year old. I remember praying, “I can’t do it Lord…not me.”

I remember being given the job of going to the local prison to sit with a young boy who had been caught stealing. Iremember stepping into the jail for the first time, the large, iron doors closing behind me, not knowing what I would say to this young man, scared and unsure of myself. Again, I remember praying, “I can’t do it Lord…not me.”

How many meetings did I come home from those first couple years, only Deb knows, crying out to God, “I need to get out. I can’t go on. I feel blocked at every turn. I don’t have the leadership ability, the stamina, the perseverance…”Again, I prayed, “I can’t do it Lord…not me.”

“I can’t do it Lord, not me” changed over time as my faith grew. As I did the funeral, befriended the prisoner, got back up the next morning after a stressful meeting and trudged back in the church, “I can’t do it Lord, not me” changed to “You Lord, Not Me.” “You Lord, Not Me.”

But it is not only in the past that I’ve struggled, that I’ve wanted to stand still, stop, and park. I continue to face such moments. “You Lord, Not Me.” It is a prayer you and I must constantly whisper. It is a prayer that you and I mustconstantly shout. I do not want to discover years from now that I simply parked, sat back, gave up, and failed to fulfill the purpose God had given me.

You and I may never have our faces carved on a mountain or written in history books, but:

*How many lives might we impact?

*How much love might we give?

*How much light might we bring into this world in the time we have if we refuse,

with God’s strength, to simply stand still?

When you are worn out, burned out, turned out, remember and listen for the voice of God.

*Hear Job explain to his friends, “The righteous keep moving forward” (Job 17:9, NLT).

*Hear God speak through the psalmist, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your

 life. I will advise you and watch over you” (Psalm 32:8, NLT).

*Hear Jesus after healing the crippled man lying at the Pool of Bethesda,“Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” (John 5:8, NLT).

*Hear Paul crying out to us, “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God

has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14, NIV).

When you are worn out, burned out, turned out, remind yourself of a simple road sign, NO PARKING. Know God will hear you. Simply pray four words: “You Lord, Not Me…” “You Lord, Not Me…”

Then…stand up and get moving!