Friday, July 4, 2008

4th of July

Today is 4th of July, and in the United States it is our Independence Day. This is the day we celebrate the signing of the declaration of independence, declaring our independence from England.

Are you independent? My youngest daughter tries to be. "I can do it myself!" she often exclaims. And she will scream and struggle to do the thing she wants to do, determined not to ask for help, becoming more frustrated. Ah the sweet taste of independence, no?

I can be a lot like my daughter. (If you've read my blog header, you know). How often do I say to God "I can do it myself!" Perhaps not in those words, but in my actions I struggle to go it alone. And figuratively I scream and struggle, determined not to ask for help, I become more frustrated.

As a parent, I wait for my daughter to ask for help, so I can rush to her assistance; as our parent, God waits for us. Matthew 7:7 tell us this, "Ask, and it will be given." God wants us to come to him in prayer to ask for his help.

Many of you, like me, feel like asking for help is a sign of weakness. Yet in 2 Corinthians 12:9 we learn "'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I {Paul} will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Yes, today is Independence Day. But I'm celebrating my dependence...on God.

Proverbs 30:7 -- Give me enough food to live on, neither too much nor too little. If I'm too full, I might get independent, saying, 'God? Who needs him?' If I'm poor, I might steal and dishonor the name of my God." (The Message)

Galatians 3:9 -- So those now who live by faith are blessed along with Abraham, who lived by faith—this is no new doctrine! And that means that anyone who tries to live by his own effort, independent of God, is doomed to failure. Scripture backs this up: "Utterly cursed is every person who fails to carry out every detail written in the Book of the law."

Psalm 62:7 -- My salvation and my honor depend on God ; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. (NIV)

3 comments:

Truth4thejourney said...

Praise God for wanting us to be dependent on Him. He has called us to do such amazing and difficult things that we know that it can only be accomplished through Him! Thanks for this great reminder.

Unfortunately, I think that our country has stopped depending on God, as well. This is a bit scary with the elections coming up in Nov. all we can do is pray for mercy.

My ADHD Me said...

"Are you talking to me?"

(like you said, that says it all)

My ADHD Me said...

RE: Your comment on my post, "The Spider's Web of CSI"......What was floating in the lake??? The Suspense is driving me crazy-er!