Do you rely on yourself? (Devo #64)

Do you rely on yourself?

I remember having a close friend in my twenties who was the definition of a strong, independent woman. She was bold, vibrant and fiercely independent. She lived on her own, seemed very confident, and was one of my first friends to show me the definition of what adulting looked like.

She knew she could take care of herself. She was brave. She was Miss Independent and confident that all she needed was herself.

I am just not that type of person. While yet I was independent, I didn’t like being independent as much as she did.

So many of us try to rely on ourselves for everything.

Trying to be strong enough. Trying to deal with our issues, habits and problems on our own. Trying to fix ourselves. Trying to keep ourselves on the straight and narrow. Trying to take care of ourselves on our own.

But is that how it’s supposed to be?

While we should have a grip on our own lives, we shouldn’t only rely on ourselves.

We will never be strong enough to overcome every issue. We will never be able to completely fix ourselves or keep ourselves completely in check.

We have someone far better than us who can do that.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul is a true example of what it looks like to place your confidence in God and not in yourself.

We stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him and he will continue to rescue us. 2 Cor 1:9-10

I realized that I don’t want to rely on myself at all, I want to rely on God.

He’s the one who can do miracles. He’s the one that saves me, forgives me, heals me and rescues me. He’s the one that can fix me, keep me in check and restore me.

We need to start trusting God so much so that our complete confidence is in Him, and not just the mere things I can humanly do. Especially because we will fail, it’s in our nature. But God, He never fails.

I want to be independent, but not independent of God. I want to be able to take care of myself but know that I have someone there backing me up no matter what happens. I want to actually rely on God with my independence, my concerns and my decisions.

Who wouldn’t want God on their team? He’s the only on who is completely trustworthy and has a proven track record of coming through at exactly the right time.

So, do you rely on yourself?

Response Questions
1. What areas do you tend to fail in because you rely on yourself more than you rely on God?
2. Do you trust God to be there for you?

Pray with me!
Father God, forgive me for relying on myself when I should have been relying on you. I know that there are so many things I just can’t do in my own strength, but you can. Thank you for being there for me. Help me to run to you when I need you and even when I don’t. You are so good. Thank you that I don’t have to do life on my own. I rely on you God.
In Jesus’ name, amen.

Need prayer?