We enter our world totally dependent on those around us, and very often, before we leave this world, we again return to total dependence on those around us. And in between, we gain life skills as basic as being able to walk and talk, and as complex as learning to read, understanding the tangible and the intangible world around us, and gaining the proficiency necessary for earning a paycheck. Relationships, caring wisely for our bodies, growing our natural talents, immersing ourselves in school, exploring hobbies, sports, and entertainment, learning what it is to be a wife, a mom, and then, a grandmother, comprehending, interpreting, applying, and then passing on knowledge, and even the inevitable problems, difficulties, and losses – each finds its place in our journey from dependence to dependence. And in some ways, that is as it “should be.” But, we do pride ourselves in our years of independence. And our independence becomes very self-sufficient while “God” becomes part of our doctrine, and little more. “I can do it!” and a false assurance that I can figure life out, is followed by “God will never give me more than I can handle.” And for a season, perhaps, our journey is without detour or pothole, and personal accomplishment seems to shine, until..................................
Until the understanding is muddied. Until relationships become abrasive. Until the paycheck ceases, health deteriorates, loss gouges crater-size holes in our souls, or our ability to analyze, organize, and execute ends in failure. It is then our independence and our self-sufficiency begin to scream, “God, where are you?????” And sadly, some won’t even scream. Their self-sufficiency won’t allow them to.
For a time, even Paul set a course of independence, and he told the Corinthians, “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.” Paul’s independence didn’t last long though because, “as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God. ... We placed our confidence in him.” The concept that God will never give us more than we can handle is simply not in the Bible. God wants our dependence. He wants to show us the walkable path He promises in Proverbs 3:5 and 6. He wants to carry us like the shepherd of Isaiah 40:11. Isaiah 42:16 reminds us He is the one who can turn darkness into light. 1 Peter 5:7 speaks of God’s love that wants to embrace us in the things that cause us concern. Men have learned to depend on God when threatened by lions, by flood, by kings, by imprisonment. Women have cried out to Him in their barrenness and when they have cradled their young even in death. Yes, Philippians 4:13 begins by saying, “I can do everything...,” but it ends with the words, “through Christ, who gives me strength.” He is the one who enables us for the path He sets our feet on.
There is much, and really, there is nothing, He ever intended for us to "handle on our own." God's intent is for us to share all of life with Him, to live all of life in dependence on Him, to find in all of life the sufficiency that He, and He alone, offers. God is the one who promises the walkable path, not always an "easy" path, but always one that is "walkable" with Him.
– Bev
(Related Bible reading: Proverbs 3:5,6; Isaiah 40:11; Isaiah 42:16; 1 Peter 5:7; Philippians 4:13)
