SELF RELIANCE VS. DEPENDENCE ON GOD

A very dear friend of mine said to me the other day, “God won’t give me more than I can handle.” And because I love her and we have that kind of relationship where we can reprove one another, I challenged her on the thinking behind that statement. The first part is that “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all”. (1 John 1:5) And “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above”. (James 1:17) These 2 verses show us that God does not “give” us things that are dark: pain, suffering, trauma, or tragedy. Everything God gives us is good. The evil we experience in this world comes because we live in a world that is fallen and has been given over to Satan because of Adam’s sin “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19) And also we, without Christ are broken. God has made us with free will which means we can choose to sin, which not only damages our relationship to God, but it causes us to hurt one another and experience the pain and suffering that come from that separation and brokenness.

In this world we will have suffering because of these conditions: Satan and his destructive power, and our inability to stop sinning on our own. Isaiah prophesying to the Israelites counseled them to stop trying to save themselves,

God, the Master, the Holy of Israel, has this solemn counsel: “Your salvation requires you to turn back to Me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on Me- the very thing you’ve been unwilling to do.” (Isaiah 30:15)

This is where we as Americans often do the same thing as the Israelites. We try to save ourselves. You have heard the phrase, “Put on your boots and get down to it”, or a more modern version, “pull up your big girl/boy panties and do it.” We as a nation are known for our independent spirit and can do attitude and there is nothing wrong with that unless we are trying to do things on our own without including God in the equation. God will never come in and usurp our right to choose. He does not ever “control” us. That is part of how He made us with free will.

So, if something hard comes our way and we want to tackle it on our own He lets us. But, Oh boy, are we missing out. The God of the angel armies, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, our Redeemer, and the Lover of our souls wants to help us in every situation. He has made it available for us to stand clean before Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. We can come right into His presence and receive mercy and grace to help in our time of need. He wants and is able to save us each and every time. Our strength is limited, His is not. Our wisdom and knowledge can only go so far, yet He holds all wisdom and knows all things. The most important thing about who God is is He is love. He loves us without any limitations. The ways He works are better. His love is stronger! He has said that His power is made perfect in weakness because His grace is our sufficiency. He gives power to the weak and to those who have no might He increases strength.

The more we know of God and who He is through His Word, the more we will trust Him and His love for us. Everything that He does is good, and His love never fails. Why in the world would we not want Him to come help us, to strengthen us and save us? Sometimes when I am facing a difficult time or trying to “handle” a hard situation, on my own, to “figure it out”, I will hear a still small voice saying, “Do you want Me to help?” And I am reminded of His great love for me and His desire to help me and lead me and take care of me.

Considering all of this, how could we change that beginning quote?

“God, the giver of all things good, will help me to get through this hard time. On my own I would be overwhelmed, but with God giving me His strength I will walk through this fire and not be burned because His love will see me through.”

This is my revision. What is yours? I want to challenge you to study who God is according to His Word and come up with your own statement of belief that you can hold onto when life gets hard and painful. How would you change this statement for yourself to reflect your willingness to turn to God to get you through the tough times you are facing today? There are so many promises about how God will deliver us, save us and help us. The secret to walking through suffering and being sustained does not come from my own strength and endurance, it comes from knowing and walking with God and surrendering my desire to rely on myself and depending on Him to see me through, to strengthen me, to comfort me, and to never let me down.

Hand of God reaching out

But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started Israel: “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re Mine. When you are in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end- because I am your God, your personal God, the Holy of Israel, your Savior.”

Isaiah 43:1-3a The Message

May you be blessed and taken care of by our loving God, and may you trust Him more and more as you seek and find His help.

Betsy O’Callaghan LMFT