Chapter 9 is about Gospel Enemy #3: Self-reliance. For me, the information provided by the authors was an answer to prayer. I have been asking the Lord to show me why I am so stressed out all of the time, eventhough I have given up my job and have no kids at home.
The authors explain that the cousins of self-reliance are self-confidence, self-sufficiency and self-esteem. The "world" admires people who have these traits. I don't know about you but, I was taught from little on that I needed to do things for myself and that no one else cares about the things I need or desire, unless it matters to them personally. My parents taught me that I could accomplish anything if I just worked hard and believed in myself.
I developed a type of legalism in my life when I was very young. I told myself that I needed to succeed at anything I did. I about made myself crazy trying to live up to my standards. When I was in grade school my teachers used to tell my parents year after year that if I didn't relax I was going to have a heart attack by the time I was 20. In High School I continued to be uptight about everything. I told myself that I always had to get an A and that I always had to win 1st Place in any of the swimming events I competed in as a member of the Swim Team. I really beat myself up if I didn't meet those standards and I believed that my parents expected perfection also.
The authors explain that if we are self-reliant in our daily lives that we shouldn't be surprised when we discover that we are also self-reliant toward God. Being self-reliant toward God is dependence on our own power instead of depending on the Holy Spirit. It is sin. Romans 14 says "whatever does not proceed from faith is sin". The authors say that we shouldn't be self-reliant about anything! They say that self-reliance is an illusion, a lie. This was so eye opening for me. I know now that the pressures I put on myself so that I could succeed were against God's word. The Bible says that we should come to Jesus when we are weary and heavy laden and He will give us rest. He tells us to take up His yolk and follow Him because His yolk is easy and His burden is light. We were never meant to carry our many burdens alone. God knows that we will eventually be crushed by them if we don't give them to the Lord.
Self-reliance toward God also causes people to think that they can earn their way to Heaven, instead of simply trusting in the Lord for salvation. It is also impossible to live a life pleasing to the Lord in our own strength. Our strength is imperfect but the Holy Spirit's strength is flawless. I think that God gives us abilities and gifts to be used for Him not so that we can rely on ourselves. 1 Corinthians 4:7 says "what do you have that you did not receive?" This is so true! We are born with nothing and we can't take anything with us when we die except for salvation by faith in Christ. No one makes themselves successful, or rich or poor or anything else. God gives everything to us. It must hurt Him terribly when we go about our lives and forget Him. Instead of being thankful for what He provides for us, we become boastful in what we think we did for ourselves.
The book made the very true statement that our very existence is dependant on God. We cannot cause our hearts to beat or our lungs to breathe air. We should be thanking and praising the Lord for every minute of life He gives us. Out of thankfulness for all God does for us, we should desire to use our lives to serve Him. He is our "all in all" like a song says.
The chapter goes on to say that sometimes God takes away our self-reliance and self-righteousness by revealing our sin to us. When we realize that we aren't relying on the Holy Spirit for our strength everday and for everything, we need to repent and make it a point to change our thinking. We can't do it alone though, we need the Holy Spirit's help. God also frees us from self-reliance in ways not directly related to sin. One example is Paul's "thorn in the flesh". He said it was given to him so that he would not boast in himself. Eventhough he begged God to take it away, He didn't and told Paul that His grace is sufficient for him because His power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9) Paul embraced the source of strength that the Holy Spirit provides and we should too.
I never looked at my way of living my life as sin. I knew that salvation is by faith in Christ alone but I figured that He wanted me to use my brain, my strength, and my talents to get through everyday life. I now know that I don't need to place demands on myself to always be the best in my own strength. I feel free now to rely on the Holy Spirit for help in everything. I don't have to get so stressed out anymore. God wants me to give all of my cares to Him. I recommend that you do also.
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