Self Sufficiency Vs Dependence. Part II

When human beings are left to themselves, they are a danger to themselves.  Sundar Singh puts it this way; “it is possible for the sheep to wander from the fold and the shepherd, and find in the jungle good pasturage, but they are all the time in danger of being torn to pieces by wild beasts, which will be their fate in the end.  But those who abide in the fold and with the shepherd, though they may appear to be sick and feeble, are certainly free from anger and in the shepherds care. This is the difference between believers and unbelievers.” Most of us would agree that this is the story of our lives; we wandered off into the jungle called “I want to do it MY way” and as a result we were almost torn to pieces by beasts and we have the scars in deep in our hearts to prove it.  For some us, we are still in this jungle and have no intention of getting back to the shepherd because the pasturage that we have found by ourselves is a bit too nice to let go of. Our experience can attest that commonly all the things that are not nice are good for us, and all the nice things are commonly not good for us.  Think of how you don’t like your veggies (that are good for u), but love your sweets (which are not so good for you) or how abstinence from sex until marriage is such a tough thing than just doing it now.  When we are relying on ourselves to get by, we end up hurting ourselves.  Ultimately, self-reliance is covert arrogance which says to God; thanks but no thanks. It is like saying to God: “Look I know you created this world and you know everything about it, but frankly I don’t need you to get around, I can be my own navigator.”  I used to live like this until I met Jesus and I realized that I needed a spiritual navigator whose batteries will never go flat, after all it was Jesus who said “without HIM we can do nothing.”

I was going through my bible the other day and came across a very interesting story of a man who demonstrated dependence in God instead of self-reliance.  It is found in 2 Chronicles 20, where 3 nations unite to attack the Israelites in attempt to annihilate them all.  At the word of the messengers about the coming of the army and how close they are, King Jehoshaphat immediately calls for a fast and enquires of the Lord. This struck me because I know that whenever I am faced with a struggle, the first person that I consult is ME, and if I don’t succeed; then only do I consult God.  But this man of God does not even look for the power within himself because he acknowledges that he is weak without God.  While they are fasting, Jehoshaphat makes this prayer of total helplessness to God (v:12b) “... we are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We don’t know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.” Notice that this is not only an acknowledgement of physical powerlessness, but also that of Intellect. He says that they do not “know” what to do, they have no clue how to deal with this. What he basically says in this prayer is “Lord if you don’t save us, we are doomed!”  I was shocked at the Lord’s instruction from there, he orders them to march against them, for he will fight on their behalf; all they have to do is march against the enemy (with no weapons). The Lord fights on their behalf and they did not even lift a finger in the battle, all they did was praise and worship God.  Their helplessness moved God to fight on their behalf; He could not stand and watch his helpless children be defeated by pagan nations. Now these people took God at his word and did not carry some swords or any other artillery to protect themselves just in case God does not show up, they fully relied on him to come through for them and he did, because the bible declares that those who trust in the Lord will never be put to shame.

You know how your life is right now, and you know if you are part of the fold that is under the care of the shepherd, totally relying on Him to take them to greener pastures or if you are the sheep that wandered off in the jungle to enjoy your OWN pasturage which you found by yourself.  What is stopping you from depending on God? How about you give Him a chance to prove that he takes care of the sheep that is under his care?

God Bless You stax and thanx for reading.

Sello “Scalo” Mmane