Reliance

Reality:  I rely on myself

Wanted Reality:  Reliance on God

What if every morning I woke up thinking and saying “God, I need you.”?     or

What if I read the quote on my whiteboard, “God will never put you in a place where you are independent of Him.”?     or

What if I read the Word of God and saw that I’m but dust (Gen. 3:19), that I have a deceitful heart, which no one can know except God (Jer. 17:9-10), that I shouldn’t worry about the things of life because God’s got me (Mt. 6:25-34)…?     or

What if I let the words of my favorite hymn resonate?  In Christ Alone…  (emphasis mine)

In Christ alone my hope is found,


He is my light, my strength, my song;


This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,


Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.


What heights of love, what depths of peace,


When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!


My Comforter, my All in All,


Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! - who took on flesh,


Fullness of God in helpless babe.


This gift of love and righteousness,


Scorned by the ones He came to save:


Till on that cross as Jesus died,


The wrath of God was satisfied -


For every sin on Him was laid;


Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,


Light of the world by darkness slain:


Then bursting forth in glorious day


Up from the grave He rose again!


And as He stands in victory


Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,


For I am His and He is mine -


Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,


This is the power of Christ in me;


From life's first cry to final breath,


Jesus commands my destiny.


No power of hell, no scheme of man,


Can ever pluck me from His hand:


Till He returns or calls me home,


Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

The “what if’s” shouldn’t be if’s.  Through crying out to God, through reading quotes that make me think, through reading God’s life-giving and life-directing Word, and through beautiful songs of praise, I can more easily rely on Him. 

Numerous things tell me this is right, whether other people, personal experiences, events, or the promise in His Word, such as “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

So I pray simply less of me, more of You and to actually rely on God because it is truly through Christ alone that I am anything or have done anything worthwhile.