“I can do it. I don’t need any help!” Those words emanate many times over from children toward their parents. They’re trying to exert some independence in their young life.
We grow up and continue to exert more and more independence. After all, we need to be responsible individuals living in this world, right? We shouldn’t live carelessly.
Certainly, that’s true. We ought to work hard, provide for ourselves and our family, contribute to society and help others. That’s a good citizen in any country.
But somewhere along the way, we may subtly begin to act and live independently from God. We have money, strength, and knowledge. “We can do it. We don’t need any help!”
Eventually, we may begin to first look to our own resources and ultimately, we may not look to God at all. Unfortunately, the way that looks right to man without looking to God is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12).
Apart from the Lord, we are insufficient. It is He who arranges our steps, not us (Psalm 37:23). It is He who planned our good works (Ephesians 2:10). And it is He who gives the first and last breath, let alone every breath in between. Look to Him first, not last. If the Son of God said He could do nothing apart from the Father (John 5:30), what makes us think we can?