Arrogance

You may say that your garden thrives on neglect. Some people may look at it and say it lives independently, but that is far from the truth. Even your garden needs God to plant, to water, and to give the increase. For your plants to claim independence is arrogant. They would be taking everything for granted. Seeds cannot germinate without soil, water, and sun; and plants even need the bees and worms to do their jobs. But the bees and worms are also interdependent on the process. Without the plants, soil, water, and sun, the creatures could not survive. For a human to claim, “I can do it myself,” is the same as a beautiful plant claiming, “I can do it myself.” How absurd.

BIBLE TRUTH
“He existed before anything else,
      and he holds all creation together” (Col. 1:17 NLT).

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
God designed all creation to be dependent on Him. Humanity was designed to depend on God, and without such dependence death results. The essence of original sin was man’s asserting his willfulness to be independent from God even though God provided everything necessary. Am I willing to be dependent?

PRAYER
Lord, I want to be blessed as one who trusts in You, as one whose confidence is in You. Please make me like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. I do not want to fear when heat comes, and I long for my leaves to always be green. I don’t want to have worries in a year of drought, and I want to never fail to bear fruit. (Jer. 17:7–8)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)