WEEK 3, DAY 19: DEPENDABILITY
Scripture Reference: Luke 3:1-22
“They don’t make them like they used to.” How many times have you heard that? Or said that? “This car always breaks down, but my old car …” Or “This washing machine doesn’t clean as good as my old one.” We have all said it about one thing or another. Things in the past just seemed to work better and longer than they do now…. or at least that what we think. And this train of thought isn’t just with items, i.e. cars, washing machines, etc. It can be about almost ANY segment of the economy or society. We have this fasciation that everything was more dependable in the old days. Cars lasted longer. Marriages lasted longer. Friends were better. Churches were more stable. We knew what we could count on. So, where does this need for dependability come from?
Searching for Dependability
From the time man decided to venture out on his own and make his own decisions, (read the garden), he has been searching for dependability. Something, anything to hold on to in these swirling winds and shifting sands of life. Man has grasped at things (ex. a golden calf, jobs, church), people (ex. marriage, friendships), or even himself to create a sense of security. But all these have failed at one time or another.
Do you know anyone who worked for a company for a long time, only to be let go and are now forced to start over? I do. Do you know anyone who has been burned by the church because a church leader let them down, and now they no longer darken the doors? I do. Do you know couples who have been married for more than 20 years, only to go through a divorce? I do. I bet you do too. Maybe you are one of these. So, in the ups and downs of this thing called life, what or who is dependable?
God Alone is Dependable
Psalm 62 starts like this: “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.” The simple, but difficult answer to the above question, is God alone. God. Alone. In a world where we are taught, and even encouraged, to depend on everything and everyone but God, He sits and waits for us to come to the understanding, sometimes through a painful lesson, that He alone is dependable.
Like I said, simple but difficult.
— Larry Polk, Greenwood Park
Time to Contemplate:
- What are the areas of my life in which I am depending on something other than God?
- Who are people in my life that can hold me accountable to depend on God?
PRAY:
Father, we confess that you are Lord and Savior. We thank and praise you for being the one and only one on whom we can depend. We have done so much to mess up our lives and have depended on so many other things and gods beside You. Please forgive us and give us the strength and wisdom to turn to you each and every day. We love you and pray for your protection in this fallen world.
