thoughts on dependence

This is the week that we celebrate the birthday of our nation, The United States of American.  It was in 1776 that we gained our independence from England, and since that time we have continued to fight for our freedom.  Men and women have given their lives and made great sacrifices to maintain our freedom and independence. We really are blessed.

Psalm 33:12 NASB
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.

Any nation that places God in the center will be blessed.  This has been seen since the creation of the world, and countries around the globe have found hard times or great rewards as they made a choice of whom they would serve.  This fact reminds us of Joshua’s challenge to follow God and see His blessings come your direction.

There is so much to be said about who we are as a country as well as individuals, and it is a fact that our country was founded on Christian principles and on God.  Yet there is something a bit strange or complex about our country.  The original desire was for freedom as a nation and independence from others, but there was a desire then and by some now to maintain our dependence on God.  We need God.  Many of our founding fathers expressed that desire and practiced their faith where others could see it.

One way to keep our freedom and to have a strong nation is to build faith filled homes and to teach our children about our rich history and about our great God.  And He is great.  You would agree.  I have heard and realize the truth of this statement --- as goes the family, so goes the nation.  When our homes are strong, our nation will be strong. When our homes and families are weak, our nation will be weak.  We have found that to be true forever.

Our family returned this past weekend from an extended vacation.  We have had a great time focusing on each going and growing stronger.  Yes, we drove more than 4,300 miles.  We went through 9 states.  We ate a lot.  We played a lot.  It was fun, and it was meant to be that way.  Thank you for allowing that to happen.

That time of focus reminded me that we are not only dependent on God, but we are dependent on each other.  I must teach my children about loving God and loving each other as well as serving the people around us.  God’s desire is for us to depend on Him.  The best place to learn this is at home and with our families.

My prayer is that my children will believe that their mother and I love them unconditionally and that God loves them even more than that.  Unless they are my focus, they won’t see and experience that love.  That is the dependence of our connection to God.

One of the pieces that God is calling me to and for me to is our focus since we often focus on the wrong things.  Our priorities get screwed up.  Fact is without my family and the strength of my family ministry would be worthless.

When mother Teresa won the Nobel peace prize she was asked how we are to change the world, she said "Go home and love your family."

We are literally dependent on each other, and that is what God is teaching us.  By sticking close to together, by working with and for each other, by talking through our hopes, desires and wishes, we gain strength.  By being connected we are better people and able to accomplish so much more.

We long for and teach our children to be independent.  Yet God is calling up to be dependent on Him all the time.  The tie of God to His people is as old as the earth. You’ve got to remember what happened in the Garden of Eden.  It was obvious that God longed to spend time with the people He loved.

This hasn’t changed.  He wants time with us.  His love for His children is real and ought to drive us closer to God.  Yet there is a problem.  We have often turned away from God.  We stop listening and trusting things that are not Him.  

Our nation continues to need God, and this will be reality only as families and people like you and me maintain our dependence on God.  Thank God for our independence as a nation so we can worship and share our faith as we wish, but I also praise God for helping me learn and my family to learn to depend on Him even more.

Proverbs 3:5  NASB

Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.