Is it possible that the life that we have built for ourselves in the West is not producing reliance on God because we think we can do everything ourselves? What was designed for the pursuit of happiness and human flourishing has left people in their own hands, which we are not designed to handle. When we are hungry, there is a grocery store right around the corner, when we are sick or hurt, there is a doctor nearby; when we have an issue with our house, we can pay someone to come to fix it quickly; when we are pinched for time, which we always are, we can take our entire life with us in the form of a phone, and the list can go on and on.
What once and still is a blessing from God is now a movement of life we worship and rely on for human flourishing.
Tozer, A. W, in The Pursuit of God, said this
There is within the human heart a tough, fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess. It covets things with a deep and fierce passion. The pronouns my and mine look innocent enough in print, but their constant and universal use is significant. They express the real nature of the old Adamic man better than a thousand volumes of theology could do. They are verbal symptoms of our deep disease. The roots of our hearts have grown down into things, and we dare not pull up one rootlet lest we die. Things have become necessary to us, a development never originally intended. God’s gifts now take the place of God, and the whole course of nature is upset by the monstrous substitution.
There are many themes within the Bible, but one of the big ones is Human’s need to rely on God. He wants reliance; we desire it, and he is jealous for it. Through his judgment and grace, he reminds us of it. There are stories littered throughout the Bible. There is Adam and Eve, which tells what happens when you choose self over God, Abraham and Isaac, where God shows He’s a God that will provide (Image of a ram), God’s Grace of the 40 years wondering of the desert where God showed his people every day He would provide, and later in battle with the idealists and with King Saul/David. I could type for a long time the number of times God places his provision next to what the world gives, and it’s obvious what the right choice is.
What it has produced in the West is something that Jesus calls “Little Faith.” (Matt. 17:14-21) Someone might have some faith in God, but how that person acts is no different from the person who has no faith. Another way to put it is that when someone in your life needs actions, you choose your own way instead of God’s. If you are thinking, “Is this me?” The easy question to ask is, “When something happens in your life, does your faith lead you to prayer?”
It seems so simple, but if our life circumstances do not draw us near to the creator and the church, then they will inevitably produce in us a hunger that we cannot stop and a thirst that we cannot quench. They will remove our desire for intimacy with God and the entanglement of our relationship with our brothers and sisters of the church.
Two days after Easter, I slipped in my garage and ended up breaking my elbow. In a week and a half, everything was set up for me by my doctor and my insurance that I paid for. I had surgery on Friday to put seven screws and a plate in my elbow; on Monday, I started physical therapy two days a week, and two weeks later was on a plane down to Florida to take my kids to the beach. Modern medicine is amazing, but none of that has produced in me a hunger for the provider God. I just paid a couple thousand in medical bills, and I was on my way.
Does God hate Hospitals and Fast everything? No. I thought it would be a catchy title, even if the medical system can be frustrating. We have access to things here in the West, and we are honestly spoiled. Our missionaries report to us about illnesses in other countries that we can fix with just a few weeks of the right antibiotics. Also, the amount of prayer in hospitals is amazing.
But it seems that we have come full circle, and Tozer says it best: “God’s gifts now take the place of God.”
Is it possible, for the majority of us, that God’s intimacy is only considered when we have exhausted all of our manufactured options? Just like the disciples when they couldn’t drive out the demon from the boy. Embarrassed, they go to Jesus in private and ask, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” (Matt. 17)
What if the desired human flourishing we all seek only comes from intimacy through prayer to our God?
Prayer: God, draw us back to you in all things. Like a good shepherd, remind us that reliance on your direction is true and life-giving. All good gifts come from above, so let these gifts point us back to you and not away from you. God, you are good. Amen