Christian Discipleship Course 55.

Question and answer: “How do I depend more on God?”

As a disciple we are told to bear fruit to bring glory to God. In Him we move and have our being, Acts 17:28, He is the potter and we are the clay. We need a revelation that ‘Without God we can do nothing’, John 15:5 and until we understand that, we will spend much of our energy on fruitless endeavours. Trust in Him and let Him guide you, 2 Chronicles 16:9, Psalm 25:14, Proverbs 3:5-6.

Psalm 123:1-2 ‘Unto you I lift up my eyes, O you who dwell in the heavens. Behold as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God until He comes and has mercy on us’

King Hezekiah brought about a great spiritual awaking in the land of Israel, 2 Chronicles chapters 29-30, 31:20-21. But Israel was about to be attacked by the Assyrians and Hezekiah trusted in God against all odds, 32:1-8. For a time God withdrew from him in order to test him and to find out what was in his heart, 32:31.

God may test us in difficult times to see if we have the right motives; we can also be strengthened as we trust God and give Him the glory, Job 23:10, Isaiah 48:10-11, Jeremiah 12:5.

Wisdom: When God speaks, we need to step out in faith, Matthew 17:20, Hebrews 11:6. Gideon with an army of three hundred men came against an innumerable army, Judges 7:12-22. A little shepherd boy called David killed the mighty warrior Goliath, because he trusted and believed in His God, 1 Samuel 17:26, 43-50.

When we do step out in faith, we need to continually seek God for guidance and wisdom, Isaiah 55:9, Jeremiah 10:23. We need to check our motives and hearts desires, Psalm 66:18, Proverbs 5:21. The foundations need to be firm and based on Godly principles, Psalm 37:4-5, 127:1.

Fact: We are warned not to trust in man for help, Psalm 146, Isaiah 31:1, and Jeremiah 9:4, 17:5-8. Man can let you down; Judas betrayed Jesus, Peter denied His Lord and the disciples fled, Matthew 26:56, 69-74. Even Mark let Paul down, Acts 15:38-39.

Often it is easier to seek man’s help for money, help etc, whereas we should be seeking God’s help and His will in any given situation, 2 Chronicles 16:12. Some situations are outside of the realm of human intervention and only God can intervene, 2 Chronicles 20:12-24, Matthew 8:26.

Think: Am I dependent on God, or do I put too much trust in my own abilities and talents?

More Info: Ezra 8:21-23, Psalm 20:7, 25:15-21, Ch 46, Proverbs 16:3, Jeremiah 9:24, Mark 11:24, Luke 18:1, John 14:12-13, 15:1-16, Hebrews chapter 11.