Did the times of angst and craving during the 21 day fast remind you of your dependence on things? It was surprising to me how much I depend on things that aren’t even essential to every day life. Those times were reminders of my ultimate dependence on the Lord.
I am seduced into believing that I have some kind of control over so many things in my life. Control financially, relationally, professionally, physically, you name it. These times of prayer & fasting help strip away the allusion that I have control over anything. The reality is I am dependent on God every second of every day.
As we conclude this 21 day journey together, I pray that this is just the beginning for us. I pray that we would live dependently on the Lord in every area of our lives. Our Sun Stand Still prayers are all about dependence. In fact, prayer in and of itself is a declaration that I am dependent – “if you don’t, it won’t” kind of prayers. Personally, I am dependent on Him to maintain my testimony even when circumstances are difficult; dependent to live my life missionally despite the constant distractions and pull of culture; dependent to go out of my way to invest in the lives of people around me; dependent to look for and take opportunities to invite people to Centerpoint; dependent to start conversations that introduce the name of Jesus; dependent to love my wife the way God intended; dependent to make a difference with the life God has given me.
I am asking God to increase our dependence individually and as a church beyond these 21 days of fasting. Make prayer a priority and not a last resort. Continue to come after the Lord with your Sun Stand Still requests and allow God to increase your passion and focus. Dependently pray for God to use us as a Body to reach the 60,000 un-churched, un-reached people in our city. Don’t quit!
It is sometimes unnerving and a little scary, but we are dependent on God for all things. What if we lived that way? What if we let go of the allusion of control? What would happen if we woke up every day to declare our full dependence on Him at the outset?
I wan to live that way.
We often expend so much energy, in our youth, trying to break free of our dependence on our parents that it seems we are excepting defeat by becoming dependent on God. That, to give up our control of life means we somehow lose who we've fought so hard to become. Ironically, when our dependence truely is on God, we become more our true selves. More of who we are designed to be in His eyes.
ReplyDeleteSo true...we are unknowingling set up to lean on or depend on the wrong things. More autonomy means success to most of us.
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