Matters of Reliance

My friend made a great point during our small group gathering last night while discussing Sunday mornings' service.

As we discussed competing and contending gods (from the story of the rich, young ruler), she mentioned how even self-reliance can be a competing, contending god in our life. Competency on the job, effective management of her team, ability to produce results and create viable solutions to challenging problems... it can be done and she proves it daily.

Yet, taking the time each morning to pray and confess her need to rely on God for whatever she may face throughout the day (something I've been challenged do this past week as well) and it's amazing how easier and less stressful her day unfolds.

As she's sharing, the words of my pastor mentioning his 23 years of ministry at the same church began ringing in my ears. If it's easy to rely on our abilities and competencies in corporate America, how much more would it be to do the same in ministry. To say the right things, advise the right things, quote Scripture, preach the right things... even on this site, I pray, it's God through me and not simply my perspective from years of church and thousands of services. Granted, the insight helps, just as much as my friends' experience in her field, but I can't rely on that any more than she. Likewise, neither can men and women in the pulpit.

In the words of Abraham Lincoln, "you can fool some people all of the time, and all people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all of the time." In school, on the job, at the home or from the pulpit, self-reliance eventually wears off and runs down. Only God, never fails and always sustains.

Pray this #seniorPastorMonday, a fresh understanding of our daily need to confess our reliance on God. Pray persons from all walks of life and especially those in ministry will acknowledge how much more God can accomplish when we seek and ask for His help, strength and guidance rather than relying on our own experience, energy and knowledge. Pray that God will do the miraculous, as exponentially more is accomplished fort the kingdom of Heaven on any given day that what we could do for God on our in a month or even a year. May we allow God to work and have His way through open surrender to Him rather than pushing through the days problems on our own merit.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."  - Eph. 3:20-21

-PNC

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