Whenever I attempt to do something on my own, it either fails miserably or, worse, if it is successful, it fails to bring me any joy. When I take God out of the equation, there is little left there to be good. It may seem, for a time, that things are going great. But when push comes to shove, I find myself coming up lacking… again and again and over again.
We humans have a tendency to think that we are what the world revolves around. That everything we think, do or say are pearls of wisdom to pass on to the next generation. We say things like, pick myself up and dust myself off and go do things my way. There’s of a whole lot of me in that sentence and absolutely no God. Some people even “quote” the Bible to justify their stance by saying that God helps those who help themselves.
Only one problem… that quote isn’t in the Bible. God doesn’t look for people who are strong and don’t need his help. Good thing, too, as no such man or woman exists or has ever existed. Even Jesus needed the Father.
God is looking for people who know that they are broken. People who know that they need help. People who are looking to him and crying out in their need. He wants people who see their flaws and their sins and who know that they need a savior.
So, why do we think that we know better? Why do we think we can do it on our own? I think it is the same sin nature that caused Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. At some level, we think we are the gods of our own destiny. That through our own efforts we will be able to make our path straight, our future bright, and our life peaceful and true. Sadly, this is true of Christians as well as those who have not yet met Christ.
It’s easy to forget how much we once needed God. How we broke down and confessed our sins and asked for Jesus’ help. We forget we once knew we were so lost that God had to send his own son to willingly die to pay for our transgressions.
For Christians, that doesn’t mean we have lost our salvation. But it does mean that we are living out of the will of God. When we move into that territory, we are also moving away from the protective hand of God. We start living in the world and for the world and by the world. So we shouldn’t be surprised when the world knocks us for a loop.
We seem to forget who is the ruler of this world. He is out for blood. He is a liar and a thief and a murderer. He wants nothing good for us and only bad. For non-Christians, he wants to be sure they never meet Jesus and accept his gift of pardon.
For Christians, he wants to stop us from doing the work that God has planned for us to do. He knows he has lost the battle (when Jesus died and rose from the grave), but he wants to bring as many more down with him as possible. He stands in the presence of God and points out everything we do, think or say that is utterly wrong. I’m sure he laughs and jeers and mocks us all. Especially when we try to do things on our own.
Whether you are sick or well, whether you are financial secure or on the edge, whether you have it all together or things are breaking apart, it doesn’t matter. In all things and at all times, you need God to be leading you. He needs to be front and center in everything that you do.
That isn’t a magic potion to make everything go great. What it will do is give you peace that you are not alone. That the battle is not one that you will fight by yourself. That, at the end of it all, God will love you no matter what. Even if you fail. Even if everyone else mocks you. You will have done God’s will.
Who knows why he had you do what he had you do? Who knows the mind of God? That there is and was a reason, there is no doubt. You may never see the fruit of your labor but, if you followed the path that God set before you and did the labor he asked of you, rest assured there is fruit in the future.
So, for those who think that they have to do things on their own. Stop it. Back up and ask God to help you. Ask him if he wants you to do whatever it is. Ask him to heal you. Ask him to provide for you. Then ask, no matter what happens, that his will be done for you.
Even Jesus wanted something different from God’s plan. Just before he was betrayed by one of his own disciples, Jesus prayed that God give him a different way. He didn’t want to die. But, he was willing to let God’s way be his way and so he submitted himself to death.
Jesus showed us how we should pray. He showed us how to submit to God’s will and plan. If Jesus could do it, then we should all be able to do it as well. It is hard to learn to submit and each and every time, the worldly part of me wants to object.
For some people, it is their physical prowess that they think will save them. For others, like me, it is their mental ability. So, okay, you can either fight your way out or figure your way out. Right. Not right. Look at the world around us. All of it in shambles. It is falling apart more as each day arrives. Our sin is destroying everything and yet we think we can fix it. Right. Not right. No way.
Brothers and sisters against each other. Parents and children at odds. Turmoil in the nations, fights among the races, hate for each other. Nothing we are doing is working. It is only making it worse.
Think of that the next time you think you can go it alone. When you think you have the strength in yourself and of yourself to fix whatever is wrong.
Don’t get me wrong. God will use you to do his work and your work will be successful. When it is God ordained and directed, no matter what the outcome seems to you, it is blessed and correct and exactly according to plan.
Christians, look to the Bible to see what God expects from you. The Bible is the Word of God and the instruction book for us to follow.
For those who are still searching, know that God has a plan for you, too. It starts with accepting Jesus as savior. He loved you before you were born. He died for you then, too. Even in the middle of everything wrong you have done, he still loved you and loves you and will love you. If you want to feel this kind of love in your life, reach out to the one who died for you. He has a pardon waiting for you. All you have to do is accept it and him as your savior. No good works, no special cases, no extra steps. Now, don’t wait. You don’t have a promise of a future, only of today.
On our own, there is nothing we can do. With God on our side, there is the world to reach out to. While the world will continue to fall apart as sin rips the universe in two, we can still love the Lord and help and love one another. It’s what he wanted us to do.
Psalms 39:4-7
“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.
“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.
“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.