Depending on God

This is something I have always wondered about: how will I know that I'm trusting God? How will I know that I'm relying on him and not my own strength? Will it feel any different?

There's no easy answer, but there are several symptoms of a dependent heart that we can look out for:

(from dictionary.com, one of my favourite websites! Haha)

To rely, especially for support or maintenance: Children must depend on their parents.

We Don't Worry
This means that we depend on God the same way we depend on our parents. We depend on our parents (ok, at least I do) to provide and for guidance. When I depend on my parents, I mean that everyday when I come home from school I expect my key to still fit in the lock and my bed to still be in my bedroom etc. I don't think twice about it. I don't worry that my house will have disappeared, or that my electricity will be cut off. I don't worry because I rely on my parents to take care of these things.

In the same way, when I rely on God it means that I don't worry about the things he has promised to provide. I don't worry that my sin is too big for God to forgive:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

I don't worry that I won't have enough sleep for tomorrow (something I have been feeling very passionate about lately, hahahaha)

In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves. (Psalm 127:2)

I don't worry that God will forget about me and leave me alone

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

We're Always Thankful

(okok but it's true!)

If you trust someone to do something for you, the natural response is to thank them, right? So one of the symptoms of depending on God is a thankful heart.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever. - 1 Chronicles 16:23

The alternative is pretty gruesome:

Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. - Acts 12:23

Like Job, we ought to give thanks whether in good or in bad:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised." - Job 1:21

We Pray!

We pray because (not as if) our lives depend on God.

Look at the example of Hezekiah:

Hezekiah trusted God. We know because God says so:

Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. - 2 Kings 18:5 (It doesn't get much plainer than this)

In chapter 19, we see what Hezekiah did in the face of opposition: he prayed! If we depend on God, we would cast all our cares on him. We would trust him with all our problems and pour out our concerns to him, and plead with him to deliver us. This is because we know that our lives depend on him!

In the same way you plead with your teachers to extend deadlines (haha I'm a teacher now so I get a lot of it!) because they have the power to (ok not always), if you trust that your lives and family situations depend on God, you will plead with him to deliver you.

- Denise -