2/25/2024 Daily Devotion – Self-reliance is self-defeating!

Therefore in that day the Lord God of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, to shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth. Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.” — Isaiah 22:12–13 (NASB95)

Yesterday’s devotion addressed the dangers of “forgetting the God of your salvation.” The problem is that we start going through life, and we naively begin to convince ourselves that we must have gotten ourselves to where we are. We forget about God’s acts of mercy, His acts of providence and His acts of protection. We actually begin to pat ourselves on the back and honor ourselves for what we have become. At that moment, the Lord begins to allow negative things to happen so that we might be moved to repentance and turn back to Him. But sometimes the heart gets so hardened that we do not see the Lord’s call to repentance. Some people of Isaiah’s day were too busy trying to put things back by their own effort. Others were blindly living life trying to drown out what was happening around them. God was seeking hearts of repentance, what He got was hearts of self-reliance and rejection.

What about today? I see a lot of people turning to politicians and the newest technology to solve all of life’s problems. I see us turning to ourselves for answers to the environmental, economic and social problems of our day. Is it possible that the Lord wants us to turn to Him with hearts of repentance? Is it possible He wants us to give up our spirit of self-reliance and return to reliance upon Him? I can’t help but think that we as a society are going to the wrong sources for our answers. Our ancestors (and Isaiah’s too) lived their lives in faith to God. They knew that it was only by the gracious hand of God that they were blessed and protected as they walked through life. May we turn back to that same wisdom! May we repent of our arrogance and return to the faith of our forefathers. Let us trust in the One who redeems, provides, and protects those who believe and trust in Him.

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church

Let the world see Jesus in you!

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