Dependent on What?
I double-checked the power bar at the top of the screen on my laptop. Yep. Even after five minutes of fiddling with the cord, it still wasn’t charging the battery. I began to think of all the online homework that would be due in the next couple of days and groaned. What was I going to do without my laptop? I quickly put it in sleep mode to conserve the little battery that was left so that I would be able to print anything that was absolutely necessary.
During the next week or so before my friend was able to fix my power cord, I began to realize just how dependent I was on my computer. Several times I unthinkingly reached for my laptop before remembering that I couldn’t use it.
This made me wonder: what would it be like if the dependence that I obviously had on my technology was invested in God instead? All throughout the Psalms, the writers describe God as our help, stronghold, level ground, rock, and salvation. Shouldn’t that be where my hope is placed?
In the coming days, I am going to seek a new dependence on God. What if I was as desperate after losing my Bible as I was after not having my laptop? I want to be addicted to God! Here are some ways I am going to cultivate dependence:
- Putting my mind on him first thing every morning. In the coming days I want to grow in having him on my mind as soon as I wake up.
- Seeking him out before every homework assignment. I don’t know about you, but I often get caught up in the things on my to-do list without stopping to take time for God. Maybe taking time to speak with him before each project will help me with this.
- Limiting Facebook. I’ve realized lately just how much time I spend reading about other peoples’ lives! While this is great in small quantities, it can quickly eat up precious time that I could use towards other things.
Will you join me in seeking out a new level of dependence on God for your life? What are you doing right now to spend time with Him or to remind yourself of your need for him?
My Provider
Low Tire Pressure, read the speedometer. “Oh great,” I thought. “What does that mean? A flat tire?” This summer I had been interning at NASA and living with my grandparents. They had generously lent me the car that I was now driving back to my office from a meeting on the NASA campus. “Too bad I never learned how to pump up a tire…” I parked the car in the first parking space I could find and walked the rest of the way to my office. I didn’t know exactly what the message meant, but I wanted to be sure not to do extra damage.
Of course, no one answered the phone at my grandparents house. I put down the receiver. “God, you’ve got this under control. You have always taken care of me before, and I know you’ll do it again. I need to get some more of my assignment done before it’s time to go home in a couple hours. Please send someone that knows how to help me!” Then I returned to the work I had been doing.
About forty-five minutes later, I suddenly had the idea to post my dilemma on the NASA intern discussion forum. To my relief, a friend replied just a few minutes later to say that there was a service garage on campus about a mile from my office! It should be okay to drive that far. “Thank you, God!” I grabbed my keys and walked back to my car. The garage looked deserted except for two men in the parking lot. “Um, excuse me,” I asked, “a warning light just came on and says that my tires have low air pressure. Would either of you know how to put air in them?”
The first one answered, “Oh, we actually don’t work here – we just came to look around. But if you pull your car into the building we’ll see what we can do.” Ten minutes later my tires were eight pounds heavier and I was able to drive home. God had provided again.
Do you worry about the future? That you or your family will have what you need? Divorce can cause a lot of uncertainty about where you will live, where your family’s income will come from, and what life in general will look like. But in the midst of all that uncertainty, you can rest on the fact that God has promised to provide for his children. He knows what you need and will always provide a way. Put your trust in your Lord who never fails.
Leave a comment and tell us, have there been times in your life when you have had to rely on God to get you through? How do you remind yourself that he will provide?
Five Things
Do you ever take a moment just to think about God’s love for you? It’s one of the most important topics you could spend time thinking of! If not for his love, we would not have any hope of a relationship with him and we would be doomed to spend eternity without him. Here are five things that I wrote down when I was thinking about his love for me today:
1. His love is greater than I can imagine. Picture the ocean. Now multiply that one million times. And God’s love is still bigger!
2. His love is self-sacrificing. He gave himself up to humiliation and torture in order to rescue me.
3. His love does not depend on me. No matter what I do or how bad I mess up, God already knew about it. My actions can’t change his love for me.
4. His love is personal. Sometimes we talk about God’s love like it is an abstract idea. But it is exactly the opposite! He loves YOU. Ask him to make that truth real in your heart.
5. His love is safe. No matter how many times love has failed in the past, God’s love will not. Fully entrust yourself to him. He won’t let you go.
What are some other things about God’s love that you have learned or experienced?
My Hero
I’ve always loved watching the old, black-and-white Superman episodes. In each one, Superman confronts colossal problems while hardly breaking a sweat. Usually such problems include antagonizing armed felons, saving Metropolis from imminent destruction, and rescuing the lovely Lois Lane from her kidnappers – all within thirty minutes. At the end of the day, Superman has saved the city and still manages to keep his secret identity a secret.
If you had an involved father in your life, do you imagine him as being like Superman – perfect in almost every way? We all have some vague idea in our minds of what our father should be like. What is yours? Is he strong and protective? Humble and always there for you? Does he encourage you in your goals and help you when you’re stuck?
No matter what you think your father should be like, there is only one man who can perfectly fulfill our expectations for a dad. It’s not your biological dad, and it’s not the man you are envisioning.
2 Corinthians 6:18 says, “And, I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
God tends to be something of a perfectionist; when he does something, he does it better than we could ever imagine. He is the best father we could ever ask for.
It can be easy to hold up our idea of a father and say, “If only I had that, then I my life would be better.” But this is only our flawed view. God does his job so much better than anyone we could imagine.
Turn away from the father image you are looking to, and fix your eyes on His perfect love.
- Aimee
Self-Injury
“You have so much pain inside yourself that you try and hurt yourself on the outside because you want help.” Princess Diana admitted to cutting her legs in a BBC interview.
“I put out cigarettes on my arms. It didn’t hurt. You get this adrenaline rush and could actually faint from the pain, then a little sting then you actually don’t feel anything. It’s calming actually.”Christina Ricci quoted during an interview with Spin Magazine.
Demi Lovato dropped out of a concert tour with the Jonas Brothers last year to seek help with eating disorders and cutting. Angelina Jolie has admitted to cutting during a rough patch in her teens and early twenties.
Young women resort to self-injury because they are experiencing overwhelming feelings, like extreme anxiety or tension, and in the moment self-injury may seem to provide a feeling of escape or relief. Forms of self-injury can vary. Cutting is the most prevalent but picking, scratching, and burning yourself are also forms of self-injury. (Center for Young Women’s Health-Children’s Hospital of Boston)
This type of addiction is not usually conquered alone. It’s important to pin-point the reason you harm yourself. If your darkness stems from your parents’ divorce and you don’t feel comfortable talking to your parents, please find another adult you trust. Don’t be ashamed. Your Heavenly Father loves you no matter what and He has a message for you in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you are bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
Encouragement:
Teenage years are tough and your parents’ divorce has created a double whammy for you. No wonder you’re experiencing overwhelming feelings. Please know you’re not alone. You can feel alone in a house full of people. I get that. If any of these scenarios represent you, please know God is looking at you right now waiting for you to reach out to Him.
You’re so important to Him and He will give you the strength to tell someone and get the help you need. Don’t think you can stop this alone. I’m passionate about this so if you need to reach out to me. Please do. Seriously.
Know I’m praying for you,
Sherry