Saints,
In the previous devotional we looked at our need for the Holy Spirit. We reviewed how Peter failed to remain faithful to Christ in his own power, but after receiving the power of God through the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, he preached powerfully and many lives were changed. He was changed. He was empowered. He was set free from himself. Today, I hope that we will fully embrace our need for the Holy Spirit not only individually, but also corporately. Let’s begin with a lesson from my family vacation.
My family recently received a gift from our relatives—a timeshare unit in Kauai for two weeks. Yes, the trip was amazing. We stayed on the North shore which is well known for its lush, tropical characteristics. This rain forest-like quality is the reason Kauai is known as the Garden Isle. We enjoyed God’s creation. As we basked in the tropical sun, one image impressed me. I saw a waterfall flowing down a mountainside. Please know that the mountains in Kauai are very different than the mountains in Colorado where I live. First of all, many of the Colorado mountain peaks top out at 13,000 and 14,000 feet altitudes. In Kauai the highest point is about 5,500. Also, the streams and rivers in Colorado flow down from melting snow. The waterfall in Kauai was not fed by melting snow, it was fed by rain—almost all the streams and rivers in Kauai have are fed by rain.
Let me share one more fact about the island we visited. The highest point in Kauai receives 420+ inches of rainfall per year. This makes it one of the rainiest spots on earth. So what? This struck me because the entire tropical area of Kauai is fed by consistent, daily rainfall. So the plants below are lush and very green, which in turns feeds the animals and insects—life everywhere.
As I looked at my favorite waterfall every day during our visit, I began to realize that just as this lush tropical well-watered island is fed by the daily rain, so I need daily “rain” from God--His grace. We need God’s grace. We need His Spirit. We cannot live for Him with our energy. It does not work that way.
You may be thinking, well that is really obvious. Yes, most of us would agree that we know about these truths…we need God, He is our redeemer, He is our sustainer, He is our savior. But, if you are like me you may know about these truths without really living them. You may know them, but not receive them deep in your soul.
Let me give you an example from the Bible. Abraham was given a promise from God that he would have a son. Even so, at some point Abraham decided to not live by the fact that God is faithful and that God would keep His promises. He chose to help God out with his own energy. He caused an "Ishmael" in his life—a lesser blessing than what God intended. Just like Abraham, we can approach living for God by thanking God for taking our sin penalty away and then in essence say to God, “Thanks God for the help, we can take it from here.” What would this look like? How would this reliance on self play out in our lives? This might look like keeping a personal mental account of our good works in contrast to our sins. We decide to engage in a kind of “sin management.” As long as we perceive that our sin column is lower than our good works column, then we our okay—life is good. But, when the sin column gets too high, we our alarmed and decide to double our efforts to get balanced again. Do you see how much of “self” is in this approach? In reality, only Jesus is qualified to "manage our sin."
Of course all of this is poor thinking—not Biblical. But, I submit to you that we sometimes live like this. This approach to living the Christian life is basically a self-righteousness based approach. We decide the level of sin which is alright for us. We determine how much effort is required to fix our own sin problem.
Over the past few months, I have been through a struggle—one which allowed me to see more clearly this process play out in my own life. So, I began to approach this problem by increasing my effort to solve it and fix it. I only made it worse. Fortunately, God has patiently shown me that I cannot fix my problem. In fact I can do nothing before Him. He is God. I am not. I am to submit and trust. He leads, redeems, loves, heals, and fixes problems.
So, I need God. I absolutely need God. Without His grace, I sin. I ruin relationships. Without complete dependence on God with confidence, I cannot live in or through or for God. Without His grace, His name is not honored in life. Without His grace and the power of His Spirit, His kingdom is not benefited through my life--others do not experience His love in me.
This complete reliance on God and our deep need is mentioned by the author of Hebrews in 4:16,
Hebrews 4:16 (NASB)
16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
I submit to you that our time of need is all the time.
As we saw in Peter, we need God. We need His grace. We need His Spirit. Not merely to help us live our lives, but to live at all, we need God. This is the truth God has helped me see more clearly that just as Kauai needs that consistent rain, so we need consistent grace to rain done on us. Yes, we all need this. Let’s admit it.
Again, as we saw in the last devotional, Peter failed without God’s power. Like peter, we need the Spirit of God. Just as we individually need the Spirit of God, the church also needs the Spirit—to corporately unite in her need for the Spirit. No, I am not making this up—remember the early church and the day of Pentecost. Just as we individually need the power of God, we corporately need the power of God. Our part in this is to agree with God. Believe Him. He is right and true. His plan is the only one. We need God’s power in our lives and in His church.
In closing, please answer this question, “Do I live my life with a complete dependence on God with confidence in God?” Let the Holy Spirit guide your answer, lest you be too hasty to say “yes!”
I write this because His love compels me to. His grace is sufficient. I pray that these words encourage you toward deeper dependence on God and intimacy with Him.
