Total Dependence

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
   don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
   he's the one who will keep you on track. ~Proverbs 3:5-6 (MSG)

When I wrote my last book, A Path Less Traveled (book two in the Miller's Creek, Texas series), I chose Proverbs 3:5-6 as the theme for the story. At the time, I never dreamed how the Lord would bring me to a place of having to depend on the truth of this verse. In my head, I thought I understood this scripture, but now, in the current circumstances of my life, it has become so real to me.

I wish I could say that I always lived by this truth--that I didn't have moments of fear, trembling, and downright panic--but in all honesty, I have to be reminded of it several times a day. When I truly live out this passage, life falls into a comfortable easy rhythm where the Lord leads and peace indwells. But when I start to depend on my own understanding, worry and doubt plague me like a growling dog snipping at my heels.

Leaning on our own understanding, is a normal human tendency. The problem lies in the fact that our understanding is flawed because we're flawed. We can't see the big picture, but our big God can.

Worry and faith can't co-exist. When one moves in the other moves out. We have to choose. If we lean on our own understanding, we're depending on ourselves instead of Jesus. True faith calls for total dependence on Him. Not our own limited knowledge, not our bank accounts, not our careers, not our strength. Nothing.

Trusting Him means believing that He is able and that He will provide. It means not stepping in to help Him out. It entails seeking Him instead of seeking answers and solutions. Total dependence.

Dear Father, thank You that You are able. We praise You because of who You are--a God who sees and knows every detail of our lives down to the number of hairs on our head--a God who has promised to provide. Help us to trust You completely. Forgive us for the times we depend on ourselves instead of You. Teach us that half-trust is no trust. Help us to seek You moment by moment. Thank You for the peace that flows over us when we do. Thank You for directing our paths. In Jesus' Name, Amen.