Humble Dependence

Psalm 16:1 ESV says, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.”

Self-preservation is an easy way to miss out on the promises of God. The sons and daughters who live in surrendered dependence on the Lord are secured in God’s presence. Yet stepping into dependence on God can be terrifyingly vulnerable, especially if you’ve been rejected and let down by others.

The Bible is full of instructions for righteous living. Page after page, from the foundation of Deuteronomy to the prophecy of John in Revelation, we find insights into how to live a life that pleases God.

These truths are foundational to the Christian life, but without a conviction to depend on God, they only represent an empty strategy for self-preservation. Even if one could live up to the standards of the Bible in their own strength, they would still be void of the gracious transformation and empowerment of the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives.

What if the stories of God at work and his promises for righteous living were not just a manual for morality but evidence that God is faithful, trustworthy, and worthy of our trust? What if our response to God’s word was not self-motivated striving for perfection but another reason to lean harder on the grace of God?

Unfortunately, many believers have bought into a hybrid grace/works gospel that delivers the worst of both worlds. It looks like sermon series’ and discipleship groups that emphasize practical self-help based on biblical principles and put the Holy Spirit in last place—the bow to tie up our good works. Of course, striving never leads to lasting freedom, and God’s grace is included in our theology as a cover-up for the lack of lasting fruit we see from this model.

That is a pretty grim depiction of the church, but I’ve seen too many imprisoned believers to sugarcoat the truth. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with writing up a strategy for self-improvement, but that’s not how the Bible fundamentally teaches us to follow Jesus. Jesus calls us to leave everything behind and courageously follow him into the unknown by entirely depending on him.

In reality, growth in the Christian life is confessional. We stop pretending that we can fix ourselves and start falling on our knees to beg God to have mercy on us. This place of desperation and humility is where the Holy Spirit meets us and supernaturally renews us from the inside out.

When our lives look like Psalm 16, we put all our hope in a God who sustains us by his mighty power.

I can’t articulate in common words what God does in the spiritual realm. What I know is that responding to God’s word out of self-preservation always leads us down a path of striving and empty works. Responding to God’s word as people humbly in need of a saving God opens the door for the profound invitation to be transformed and renewed by God.

Lean on God today.