Blog

There’s an old jokey IQ test question that asks, ‘Is there a 4th of July in the UK’. Its amazing how many people think of American Independence Day and answer no,when the real answer is ‘yes, it’s the day after the 3rd of July’.

Independence is important to most of us—it’s seen as a virtue. I admit to being fiercely independent. I hate asking for help, or admitting that sometimes I feel overwhelmed by things like my fast growing garden when health and weather (mostly the latter in recent months) have combined to ensure I can’t get out to keep on top of it. But is independence and self reliance really such a good thing?
Ironically, independence is dependent. We need to have the means and resources to enable it and we become frustrated and stressed when these are not available. Sometimes we need to swallow our pride and ask for help. As Christians, we are fortunate enough to have help that is always available to us, but do we always ask
for and rely on it?

I know I am often guilty of not totally trusting in God. I pray, I tell Him what I need (as if He didn’t already know…) and I ask Him for help. And then I sit down and try to figure out how to do it myself, or at least how to give God a helping hand to sort it out.

I am trying hard to learn to be more dependent. My past life experience makes this difficult, but I am really trying to just put my trust in God and then leave it in His hands. To trust that I will end up where I should be, and that things will work out according to His plan for me. I wonder if many of us find this easy, or whether it’s
just me?

The Bible tells us:

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:8 Shall we try together to be like that tree? To trust that God knows us, both individually and as a church? To know that, rooted in Him, we can be confident that He
has our best interests at heart and will see that we have what we need?

Love and God bless
Sue H