Good morning. Today the encouraging words are focused on our level of dependence on God. What is your level of dependence on God? If it was rated on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being ultimately dependent on Him, where would you rate and why?
Lamentations 3:22-26
22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Now if you are a Baby Boomer like me, or raised by one, dependence on someone else or anything else but ourselves is a very difficult thing, even a thing of pride. It’s even lauded by others as an act of someone with hero status. “Look at what THEY accomplished – and THEY did it all on their own!” Be very careful with that.
Let me put our dependence on God in perspective. I’ve referred to this book at least once, but probably will several more times in my writings as I am always scanning through it – Living with Jesus Today, by Juan Carlos Ortiz. He was telling the story of the disciples out on a boat on the Sea of Galilea with Jesus. Short story, Jesus was napping and a storm arose and the guys panicked. Jesus got up and calmed the storm.
Back in a Moment After This Important Storm Update
Cutting to one of my stories for a moment. I remember back in Indiana one Spring years ago. It’s storm season, right? And there was a big one coming. High winds, heavy rain, hail, and definitely tornado warnings out. Time to put my faith into action I thought!
So I went out into the yard, leaned into the wind and put my game face on. I spoke to that storm like it was a bad puppy that needed disciplined. I used the name of Jesus like I owned it. And when it was all said and done, I ran back into the house dripping wet with the wind-blown look and the storm raged on. Okay, so next time I’ll start on smaller things.
Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program
To us and the disciples I am sure, we are amazed at what Jesus did at the Sea of Galilea. But think about it. We are very, very small in size with respect to the whole universe. So for Jesus to calm the sea is like us sticking our finger in a glass to calm the water after shaking it a bit – no big deal.
So I want to start with this as the foundation – for God nothing is too big. It is no big deal. Ever found and have/had a dependable friend? Dependable no matter what? These folks are hard to come by. They are very rare.
I Am – God is Who He is
But this is Who God Is – dependable! He doesn’t try to be, He doesn’t just WANT to be…He just IS! You know the saying, “It is what it is?” I dislike phrases like that, but it is what it is. But let’s change it with a few words – He is Who He is! I like that. God is dependable! What do you need? God says, “I Am!” What is Your Level of Dependence on God?
Dependence is: One that is relied on.
Challenge of the Day: Who is someone you rely on? Pick someone, then make a bullet list of why you can rely on them. Now make a list of ways you can rely upon Jesus. And now use that list and tell Jesus that you are relying on Him today. If you would, share a part of that list in the comments section below. You never know who you might be encouraging. “Father, thank you that I can rely on you in the big things, and in the small things. I can rely on you in the storms of life even if I do get all wet. And I can rely on you in my every-day-walking-around-kind-of-life. Father, I depend on You. So be it!”
