Be Dependent

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
~Proverbs 9:10

When my Pop was a kid, the age of majority was 21; by the time I was 15 or so, the age was lowered to 18. I've heard talk of lowering the legal "adult" age limit to 16! That is ridiculous of course, no 16 year old possesses the capacity to be fully responsible for their lives no matter what they may think. In fact, very few 18 year olds possess that maturity. I know I didn't, even though I surely believed I did!

The world around us encourages independence but not always in conjunction with maturity. Not everyone matures at the same rate and allowing, nay, booting a person out into the world due to an arbitrary birthday is not in God's plan. While we are expected to mature in life, and in God's Word, far too much emphasis is placed on independence rather than dependence on God.

According to the Bible, we are not to leave our parents until marriage, yet children leave home at extremely early ages, have their own children at earlier ages long before they are mentally, physically, or financially able to support themselves, much less the added burden of a helpless child. This is not part of God's plan for our lives.

God wants a personal relationship with each of us; a relationship that grows more dependent upon Him, rather than less dependent. Dependence upon the Lord is the most mature relationship any of us can have. In our dependence upon Christ, we find ultimate freedom from this world.

"I am the Vine, you are the branches, apart from Me, you can do nothing (John 15:5)."

When we plant seeds, we see the first shoots of the vine push through the soil, then it grows stronger and bigger, produces branches, then flowers bloom and those blooms become the fruit that each particular plant produces. Break a branch from the vine and it withers and dies. The same principle is true in our lives. Apart from God, we wither, society falls into decay and destroys itself. We see it all around us every day.

"People plan their course but God establishes our steps (Proverbs 16:9)."

If you are living independent of God, you are missing the most important relationship of your life. You are missing true fulfillment in life and you are cheating yourself out of a truly satisfying life full of God's goodness, grace, mercy, and favor. The world screams "be independent," but the Lord is calling, "Depend on Me, I will never let you down."

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:25-26)."

Read 1 Samuel 19-21
Psalm 34; 56-59; 133

A Year of Blessings by Marie McGaha ©2018