Episode #403: What Are You Trying to Handle Alone?- Becoming Childlike

Hey, friend. You're allowed to need God's help. I don't know if just that statement brings some relief to you today, but I know that it's something that I have needed to hear, and learn, and be reminded of. 

We're exploring childlikeness and how growing in spiritual maturity in the Lord often means becoming more childlike, not less. Now, we're not being childish. We're not being petty or whiny or immature, but spiritual maturity is often marked by a growing reliance on God. And depending on how you came to Christ or even the circumstances in your family growing up, being in need can be hard for us for various reasons. 

Now, I don't wanna get too much into my family story because it's not just my story to tell, but in light of several different circumstances in my childhood years, I didn't really feel like it was okay to need help very often. I liked feeling mature and grown up and capable on my own. And so I handled different things in seasons of my childhood years that honestly were not my responsibility. They weren't mine to handle. Because I was still just a kid. And so I'm learning now as an adult different ways to come to God with more reliance. Not prizing my own self-sufficiency, but celebrating the fact that I can rely on Him.

In healthy environments, kids can be totally unashamed to need help.  "Can you open this? Can you reach that for me? Will you tie this? Will you carry me? Come with me. Watch me. Do this with me." Even, "Help me find something that's literally directly in front of me."

But whether as kids or adults, when we feel like, "I really should know how to do this on my own," we hesitate to ask for help, don't we? And sometimes we can bring that same embarrassment into our relationships with God. “I should have understood this already. I should be past this area of sin." But spiritual maturity is not self-sufficiency. 

We see all throughout scripture that God talks about how we're created to depend on Him, to rely on Him, how we need to stay connected to Him.

John 15:5 says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." 

Think about that visual in the context of needs. Branches don't apologize to the vine. If a branch could talk, it's not gonna be like, "Oh, sorry vine, I know, like, I get all my water and stuff from you. My bad. Like, I know I should be better by now." It's just the nature of how it is.

God never established independence from Him as our goal. In fact, the more we grow in Him, the more freely we come to depend on Him. And our needs give us incredible opportunities to encounter God's presence and His provision.

I wanna read for you one of my favorite passages of scripture, and this comes from Hebrews chapter 4. But first, I wanna intro the setup, so verses 14 and 15 of that chapter. It says,

"Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."

So the setup here is not since you're doing so good in these other areas, you can now come to God. It's saying since Jesus is so amazing, since He has accomplished this, and He is your great high priest who can sympathize with your weaknesses but did not succumb to sin, this next part applies to you.

Verse 16, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." 

Let us with confidence, let us boldly come, not because we've done well in the other areas, but because of Jesus. We can come confidently to His throne to receive the help that we need.

You don't have to apologize to God for needing what He loves to give you, and He wants to help you. He made you to depend on Him. He made me to depend on Him. And that dependence can co-exist with competence. You can be capable and responsible and wise and hardworking and dependent on God. We are growing, but that growth comes from the dependence we have on God as He does His work in us, healing and renewing and transforming and empowering.

And so the needs that you have today, the things that are going on in your life, these aren't interruptions to your relationship with God. These are some of the places that relationship happens.

And so here's a question I invite you to take to God today to see what else He would share with you:

God, what am I trying to handle alone that you would like me to bring to you? 

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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