I love America. I’m extremely proud of our country and everything that has been accomplished and sacrificed to get us where we are today. But one consequence of our individualistic culture is the tendency to try and do it all on our own. It is culturally encouraged to have a “do it yourself” mentality, and while this might be helpful when trying to fix a leak so you don’t need to pay a plumber, it’s not helpful in our walk of faith.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is centered around humbling ourselves enough to trust that God did enough to save us. We don’t have to do anything to pay for our sins, because Jesus paid it all. It’s incredible news, but it’s often easier to say than to live out in practice. It’s much easier to think that we can white knuckle our way through problems. The other day I was reading through the book of Isaiah, where the Israelites ran into the same roadblocks of relying on God:
“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help; who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or see help from the Lord.” (31:1)
It seems the context of this verse is that the Israelites were going to an evil source for help, which is Egypt. But even if there was no context of the source, the warning remains the same: we should not go to others for help when God is there to help us. Today we do not have multitudes of chariots and armies of horsemen, but we have many things we place in front of God as our source of helping us. It’s easier to trust in our technology to solve problems, our skills to figure things out, and our vices to soothe us when we feel overwhelmed. But whatever we place in our way before God, it is faulty, because it lacks an infinite source. Everything else might hold one for a bit, but it will eventually run out. The only other option is to put faith in what is eternal, which is God, whose love, faithfulness and strength never let up.
Looking to God requires us to be diligent prayers, Spirit-led workers, and faithful followers. The Christian faith is not one of self-reliance, but self-forgetfulness. It might seem crazy to let it all go and trust God, but that is what we are called to, and the rewards are plentiful. As we surrender the idea that we have to figure it our own, life becomes more free and full. And it all starts with looking to God.