We need God to help us make it through this life. Nonetheless, there are many of us who feel that we can take care of ourselves, and we don't need God. We're big and brave until the adversities and sorrows of life come upon us. When we lose loved ones, our health, or all that we own, we then realize our own inadequacy and insufficiency. It's then that we desire to go to One greater than ourselves.
Our God is a God of comfort and consolation. Listen to 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
We can find assurance in the fact that we can cast all our care upon God, knowing He cares for us and is ever ready to assist His children. Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…” Again, in 1 Peter 5:6-7 we read, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
Man cannot live this life successfully without God leading him. Solomon in Proverbs 14:12 said, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Moreover, Jeremiah 10:23 tells us, “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.”
Yes, we always need God. Let's keep that fact in mind, and let's serve Him faithfully.
Without God we would have no hope whatsoever of life after death. He offers us the hope of a life hereafter. Those who are in this life without God cannot entertain the hope of eternal life in heaven with God. Paul said of the Gentiles who were once without God, "At that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." (Ephesians 2:12)
There is a sharp contrast between the Christian's view of eternity and that of those who reject God! To the faithful Christian eternity is not a leap into darkness, but is something to desire and look forward to. Listen to what Paul in Philippians 1:21-24 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you." Paul was ready to die. He wanted to go and be with Christ.
How about you? Are you living in this world without hope? If so, why not make the changes necessary to be pleasing to God? Paul went on to say regarding the Gentiles, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13). By being in Christ, we can be redeemed by His blood, and have the hope of eternal life.
We need God to give substance and meaning to our lives. Apart from God, man would not know his origin, purpose, or destiny. Knowing these things is essential to man's experiencing the substance, and understanding the meaning, of life.
God, in Genesis chapter 1, tells us of our origin. He said in verse 27, "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."
God has also told us why we're here. Solomon declared in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." This declaration was made after Solomon had explored all the avenues and indulgences of life in an effort to discover substance and true pleasure. He found it only in God.
Thus, the whole (the essence or substance) of man is to fear God and keep his commandments. Obeying God out of dependence upon Him results in having a good foundation upon which to build. Doing God's will results in living a satisfying, rewarding and fulfilling life here, and gives the promise of being in heaven with Him when this life is over.
How about you? What's your purpose in life? Serving God and keeping His commandments is what life is all about.
We need God to keep us from destroying ourselves. Separated from God, man deteriorates. Please consider what Genesis 6:5 says regarding the conduct of early man. "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Man can be compared to a beautiful hybrid rose. As long as he enjoys cultivation and care, he flourishes; however, take away this cultivation and he rapidly declines in his beauty.
God is the only source of the care man must have in order to maintain spiritual beauty and bear fruit. God knows what we need! Man needs God to lift him out of the mire of degradation and waste, and enable him to ascend the ladder of spiritual and moral excellence.
The psychiatrists and psychologists tell us that man is his own worst enemy. They tell us that the major causes of man's problems and his destruction are envy, jealousy, greed, hate, and worry. Every one of these things God has discussed at great length in His revelation. God has provided us with a comprehensive guide to living here on earth. We don't need the psychiatrists and psychologists to tell us how to live our lives. All we need is to listen to God.
Listen to what He has said about envy in Proverbs 14:30: "A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones." Jesus said in Luke 12:15, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." He said in Matthew 5:43-44, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you..." 1 John 3:15 says, "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
There are numerous other passages which show us how to live our lives in peace and harmony without destroying ourselves. Let us learn them and take heed.
A sense of dependency upon God is one of the primary reasons some people serve God faithfully. The absence of that sense of dependency, on the other hand, is the cause of arrogance and pride and a feeling of I don't need anybody, I can take care of myself. This attitude is the result of either not reading or not understanding God's word. God has given us many warnings in his word about departing from Him.
In the 8th chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses reminded the Israelites that it was God who took care of them in the desert for forty years, and if they would continue to remember God, He would continue to care for them. In verses 11-14 we read, "Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today; lest, when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage..."
Because of this present age of affluence and abundance, many people don't desire to become servants of righteousness simply because of their feeling of self-sufficiency and independence of God. They laugh at the idea that they need God! Let me assure you that we need God in a very urgent and real way!
God told the children of Israel the consequences of forgetting Him in the last two verses of Deuteronomy 8 when He said, "Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God."
God has also told us the consequences of forgetting Him in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9. In verse 9 He said that we shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power." We must take heed and not forget God.
In Romans 8:37, Paul says, "...We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." The word "conquerors," as Paul uses it, has the sweet smell of success, the ring of victory, the shout of triumph. It also indicates there must be a contest or a battle before the victory.
Christianity never promises to shield from the trials and tribulations of life. It does promise to sustain us, and grant us the victory. Paul tells us that the victory is accomplished "through Him that loved us," and that, of course, is Jesus Christ our Lord.
Our ability to rely on ourselves is a wonderful thing, but it isn't enough in living the Christian life. Jesus said in John 15:5, "...Without Me you can do nothing." If the victory is won, it won't be achieved by our own might or strength, but by the superpower of Christ.
In Philippians 4:13, Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Through Christ, we can triumph over temptation, gain the mastery over sin, and endure all of the hardships of life. Isaiah 40:29-31 says, "He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57).
God's gift of sight is perhaps the most necessary and precious of the physical senses. Without sight, we would be constantly bumping into, over, and off of things. Such would be a terrible tragedy, wouldn't it? Imagine, if you would, someone who has the ability to see, yet goes around with his eyes shut, not heeding the dangers that are present, trusting those around him to watch out for him and lead him correctly. This would be a very foolish person indeed.
Nevertheless, there are those who are even more foolish. Spiritual blindness is much worse than physical blindness. Those who are spiritually blind in most cases don't know it, and in other cases refuse to admit it. Some of the Lord's strongest rebukes were against those who were spiritually blind.
Jesus said of the Pharisees, "Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." (Matthew 15:14). Tragedy strikes when those who possess the ability to see, refuse to do so. The old saying: "None is so blind as he who will not see" is certainly true.
After Peter gave his list of the moral qualities a child of God must possess: virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, he warned in verse 9, "For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins." (2 Peter 1:5-9). Only by studying God's word can we learn the things God expects of us, and "see" what is pleasing to Him.
