How is your day going? How do you stay alert to God and what he is doing in your life? We can’t let routines overtake the preciousness of life or busyness trump the sacredness of life. We truly need to refuse to become so self-sufficient that we forget our total dependence on God and his amazing grace.

With the words of Paul Chappell “The mundane tasks of everyday life can lull you to apathy and push God to the back of your mind. Refuse to become self-sufficient in life. You need God every day, whether you’re facing a storm or not.” 

Goodbye to self-sufficiency

Life is hectic, I know. It’s easy to forget God in the midst of the mundane tasks of everyday life. But we need God even if we want to pretend otherwise. We are not self-sufficient no matter how hard we try. We are fully dependent on God in more ways than we know.

Paul Chappell continues “Often we become apathetic in our lives until we face a severe storm. Whether loss of a job, health crisis, loss of a loved one, or financial struggle; God often brings storms into our lives to change our perspective, to shift the focus from ourselves and our lives to Him.”

Hello to dependence on God

Sometimes we need a storm to wake us up to see what’s important, who’s the boss and what’s the point of little things in life. In that sense, troubles and hardships in our lives can be real blessings.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2-4, MSG)

Maybe we should shout ‘Hallelujah’ when things are not to our liking. They could serve as invitations to God-centered living. Maybe tests and challenges could really be seen as gifts to enlarge our thinking and our lives. Maybe trials could push us into deeper intimacy with God. Maybe our trust in God could become grater by simply embracing our total dependence on God. Maybe we don’t even need to wait for storms to do that. Maybe we could start right now.

 

Dear God,
Thank you for being everything we need.
Thank you for inviting us away from self-centeredness.
Help us to center our everyday lives on you.
Help us to embrace our dependence on you.
Become our everything, Lord.
Enable us to shout Hallelujah in the midst of storms.
Show us your kindness, Lord.
Lead us into deeper intimacy with you
and make our trust in you great.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: How do you greet the storms in your life? How do you stay alert to God and what he is doing in your life?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you embrace your dependence on God!

Image courtesy of Mari-Anna Stålnacke. Linking up today with #InspireMeMonday.