Dependence

 

 

Teach me to do Your Will

for You are my God!

Psalm 143:10

“Well, it all depends” might be what we’d say to questions such as “can you keep a secret” or “will you do me a favor” or “will you loan me some money”.  In other words, the answer depends on the conditions of the question.  The question I was most asked from mischievous little boys was, “Mom, will you hold out your hand?”  Prior terrors always made me answer “no – absolutely not.”

 

How much do you really depend on God?  Now, before you answer, consider how much of the your day passes without thoughts of God: the challenges, the joys, the anxieties, the relationships, the anger – do you just “deal” with them in your own strength and wisdom?  Ruth declared to her mother-in-law, Naomi, “Wherever you lodge, I will lodge.” (Ruth 1:16).  By these words, Ruth intended to trust Naomi henceforth for all her basic needs!  From Scripture, we know Ruth’s decision to go with Naomi, thus following Jehovah as God, was monumental: she became a mother to be reckoned with – one who instilled in her children and future generations this same dependence.  Ruth married Boaz and became the mother of a son named Obed, who became the father of a son named Jesse, who became the father of a son named David, who wrote: “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor His descendants begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25).  In one of the very last conversations with my Nanny before she left us at the sweet age of 97, she spoke this verse to me in a personal testimony of her dependence on the God of all faithfulness!  It was trust, not misplaced, but perfectly placed!  My granddaughter, Ella, has already taught me not to hold out my hand (she loves bugs too), but God wants each us to extend an open and empty hand to receive all the goodness of Himself … day after day after day.  Depend on Him!