February 1

Scripture focus: So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go! Romans 8:12-14 MSG

I find that living life as a follower of Jesus is confusing and difficult. I know – a lot of that is my own stuff. I remember that Jesus promises to teach us the unforced rhythms of a life lived by grace as we rest in him. I know the truth, but knowing the truth doesn’t always seem to set me free. Fortunately, the apostle Paul struggled with similar issues (as described in Romans), so I don’t feel terminally unique or alone in my struggles. It is with great relief that I read, “God’s Spirit beckons…” from the same guy (Paul) who wrestles like I do to live out my faith. Oh, how I love the sound of that!

Although I’ve learned that sometimes my suffering is due to my own stubborn resistance, scripture has also taught me that confusion and difficulty, loss of hope, and feelings of worthlessness are not always about me being a goof or ignoring my true God-created identity. Satan is on the prowl, looking for someone to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Neil Anderson speaks of the work of Satan in his book The Bondage Breaker when he says, “Satan’s ultimate lie is that you are capable of being the god of your own life, and his ultimate bondage is getting you to live as though his lie is truth.”

Self-reliance is as natural as breathing. Many of us have been taught that relying on ourselves is a worthy core value. Many lessons are provided by authority figures who preach self-reliance as a key to success. Harsher lessons on self-reliance are learned at an early age if parents, family members, teachers, coaches, pastors, and others fail in their responsibility to provide for and protect their young. I realize that acknowledging powerlessness and admitting that we might be wrong when it comes to self-reliance as an affront to many self-starters.

But for today, dare to dream. What if God’s Spirit beckons? What if there are things to do, places to go and people to love that you have yet to dream about? What if the best thing to do is to give your old, self-reliant ways a decent burial so that you can get on with your new life?

May we dare to dream today, as we trust God with all the ways we have lied to ourselves – and been lied to – about the value of self-reliance. Join me, please, in praying for freedom from those lies that have led us to live life as though we were in charge.

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This scripture and the message on self-reliance are so timely. The "worthy core value" of self-reliance became necessary as a child and continued into adulthood-much to my detriment even though my life looked together on the outside by the world's standards. My thinking was " I have to take care of myself because no one else would" and so became an over achiever. Neil Anderson's book, the Bondage Breaker helped identify the lie over 2 years ago and was a turning point in my recovery-learning to let go of all that gave me my identity and accepting that my identity is that I am God's child. A painful part of my journey! Then much later came the study on the book Soul Repair. Ah, now that was an eye opener to realize that what I believed theologically was so discrepant with my experiential belief. The passive god who is not God seems to be a deeply rooted lie which God is working on-I just try (not always successful)to keep my hands off (old habits die hard) and do the next right thing. His grace is amazing as He works-I look with wonder and amazement at the things He does. I am so grateful to God, the people in my hut and NSC-my community of grace. Thanks so much.

February 1, 2010 at 6:07 AM
Hzjewl said...

I too, needed to learn self-reliance at an early age but it was difficult because I had no one to teach me how. Eventually, I learned but it may have been to my detriment becauae I now find myself unable to let go of the reigns and let someone else steer for a change, which I would love to do. Unfortunately, I haven't been convinced that I could rely on anyone enough to let go in that way and be other-reliant. I am trying, though. I'm not as stubbornly resistent as I sometimes appear.

February 1, 2010 at 2:48 PM

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