If you take even a cursory overview of your life with an eye to self-reliance, we expect you’ll quickly detect it. If you don’t, simply place your last twenty-four hours under the light of the following questions:
- How many times was I consciously aware of relying on the power of the Holy Spirit, instead of on myself?
- How many times did I acknowledge God’s sovereign hand and power sustaining my every endeavor–voluntary or involuntary, conscious or unconscious?…
…The tap-root of self-reliance is ultimately found in the statement, “I will be as God.” Adam and Eve embraced it as the motive for the original sin (Genesis 3:5-6). Long before that, Lucifer (Satan) said essentially the same thing: “I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14). This constitutes a declaration of independence from God . It’s cosmic treason. But this attitude isn’t limited to the likes of Adam, Eve, and Lucifer. It’s at the root of the remaining sin nature in all of us…
…Therefore, the focus of the battle with…self-reliance in particular should center on making a deliberate, repeated counter-declaration: “God is God, and I am not.” And once we make that pronouncement each day, we must pray for opportunities and strength to apply it…
…So, after preaching the gospel to ourselves early each morning, let’s add this Daily Declaration of Dependence:
- I recognize my absolute lack of power and ability.
- I redirect my dependence to the supremely reliable power of the Holy Spirit.
- I reject my tendency to self-reliance: “Your are God, and I am not.”
~ Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington in The Bookends of the Christian Life, pages 140-142, 146 (bold emphasis mine).
