“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take”. (Proverb 3:5).
Before we go into the heart of our text today it would be useful to establish the definitions of our constructs. First, we will look at self-reliance. What is self-reliance? Self-reliance is the ability to do things and make decisions by yourself, without needing other people to help.
The second construct is God-reliance. God’s reliance could be defined simply as the faithful walk with God. Unlike self-reliance which is driven by logic and an assessment based on what can be seen and felt, God’s reliance is a faith life which waits on God for guidance.
We shall be talking about the need to rely on God for guidance before action and separating this from the sloppy character of some men who lack the ability to take charge of their own affairs or lives.
Having made this distinction, it is important to note that many people are getting estranged from God’s reliance and being drawn into a vortex of modern philosophy which emphasizes self-determination, self-confidence, and willpower as the ingredients required for success with the exclusion of divine guidance.
In as much as it is important to take charge of one’s life, however, such an adventure without divine guidance leads people up the wrong alley.
When God is involved self-reliance becomes a good quality which the Holy Spirit of God helps infuse into a man’s character but only as led by God towards a righteous and selfless end. While men work to advance their selfishness through their own self-reliance the Holy Spirit works in those who have surrendered to him to advance selfless love.
Self-reliance prevents a man from developing that simple condition of walking with God which is faith, a veritable ingredient for God’s reliance. (Hebrews 11:6).
Someone aptly captures self-reliance as acting in a self-centered/selfish way, while expecting God to do what we want in prayer. This has of course pivoted into a wrong relationship with God that expects God to always do our bidding and when such prayers are not answered we quickly lose our faith and revert to self-reliance.
As tempting as self-reliance can be it can not lead us to God’s best for our lives. Saul remains a good example in this regard. (1 Samuel 13:9).
While it may serve as an initial advantage ultimately it often leads to terrible outcomes. The Bible says “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, But the end thereof are the ways of death”. (Proverbs 14:12-16).
Why is God’s reliance crucial? The Bible equally says: “ Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails”. (Proverb 19:21). Many businesses and plans have come to ruin eventually on the altar of self-reliance without the input of God.
Jesus remains our best example and the way he related with his Father on earth made the most difference about how to enthrone God’s reliance over self-reliance.
In the book of John 5:3, Jesus says: “I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will”.
What does this statement mean? When Jesus set aside his glory and left heaven, Jesus set aside self-reliance to assume God’s reliance.
Setting aside self-reliance being that in heaven and as a member of the God head his power was self-sustaining. But as a man, he was always seeking the will of God, relying on God for guidance, and was obviously subjected to the will of God and unceasingly depending upon the Holy Spirit in prayer.
Accordingly, we read in Philippians 2:8: “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”.
No wonder Jesus’ ministry achieved astounding results.
If there is anything we all want mostly it is to achieve results in our endeavors. However, we see many frustrations because of this deceptive principle of self-reliance which depends more on the logic of the flesh than on the humility of the spirit which submits itself to God’s leadership and direction.
If Jesus is indeed our example and if we want to see great results we should do away with all the unhelpful aspirations to self-reliance and seek the face of God for direction, guidance, and determination in all our ways. When we begin to seek God for direction we will see bountiful harvests in our endeavors.
Reading
Isaiah 40:25- 31.
@aspire.
