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The Bible teaches us to put our focus on Jesus and to depend upon Him alone. This is the gist of Jesus' vineyard discourse (See John 15). Take this verse, for example: "I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5 NASB). The secret to thriving is to remain in Jesus, for without Him, we are nothing!
Anyone who has been a follower of Christ for any length of time will agree, however, that this total dependency is much easier to preach about than it is to practice. Though we are born completely dependent upon our mothers, we are encouraged from day #1 to learn to be self-sufficient. Following Jesus' command to depend upon Him goes completely against our core being!
Besides, it is much easier to put our trust in something we can see over something that we can't see…
What do we tend to depend upon? Our income? Jobs? Family? Pets? Agendas? Health? Maybe we have come to depend on ... ourselves!
It seems pretty normal, really. We rely on our agendas to keep us organized. We rely on our jobs to pay the bills. We rely on our health to be able to keep working. These are concrete things that we not only can "see", but that have always proven to be reliable.
What, then, is the problem with depending things rather than on God?
It was raining when I set out to take the dog for her walk this morning, so I grabbed an umbrella. It was one of those dome bubble umbrellas, and I could depend on it to keep me dry! And it did protect me from the rain. When we arrived on the back roads, however, I realized that I wasn't the only creature under my umbrella... At least four deer flies had joined me, and anyone who has experienced a deer fly bite will understand why I made short work of taking down my umbrella! Better wet than attacked by those circling kamikazes!
The problem with depending on something other than God is that it can backfire on us! Just like the umbrella I was depending on attracted deer flies, shifting our eyes off of Jesus and onto worldly things will attract unwanted guests as well!
Here is an example. My husband’s dementia was causing him to be violent during his daily care. I had no choice but to look to Jesus to keep me safe. He brought me an "umbrella": Long term care! Yes! That was exactly what was needed at that time! And the papers were soon submitted.
Guess where my eyes went? Yup! They started focussing on the possibility of long-term care! I didn't notice the "deer flies" that quickly joined me under that "umbrella" until the homes began refusing my husband's applications. Then they began to attack and I was soon overwhelmed with discouragement, anger, even depression.
God helped me see I had put my focus on something other than Him, and I repented. The home violence continued, however. Then God sent another "umbrella". My case manager called and said my husband was eligible for a special behavioural program for dementia patients, and he put in an application for us. He told me they would decide by Tuesday if my husband would be accepted into their program, and my eyes immediately shifted from Jesus to the behavioural program. It was my only hope. Again I didn't notice the "deer flies" that joined me under that "umbrella" of the behavioural program until Tuesday came and went with no news. Discouragement, anger, depression and total disheartenment once again began circling and biting.
I'm kind of a slow study, so I won't go on with all the other "umbrellas" that my eyes strayed to, and all the other "deer flies" that immediately began attacking me. It wasn't until God showed me what was happening that I was victorious: I was putting my trust in the potential solution He was sending, rather than in Him!
It is very tempting to shift our gaze from Jesus onto the potential solutions to our problems. We feel lonely, God sends us a spouse, so we begin to depend upon that spouse. We are having financial difficulties, God provides work, so we begin to depend upon our jobs. We are having health issues, God sends specialized medical doctors to care for us, so we begin to depend upon the doctors.
I could go on, but you get the picture. And each time we begin to rely on that "umbrella", we are putting ourselves at risk of inviting "deer flies" into the picture. There is only one solution. Remember what I did when I found the deer flies in my umbrella? I closed it. Quickly. I stopped relying on the umbrella for my comfort, and I started relying on God. And you know what? The rain stopped!
Ask God to show you the "umbrella" you have started depending upon, and when He does, close it up quick! Shift your gaze back to Jesus! It doesn't mean you have to quit your job, leave your spouse or rehome your kitty. It means you need to trust Jesus instead of the solution He provided! Let's all declare Psalms 20:7 together: "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." (NIV).
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Author, Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
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