Independence from God is Sin

Life Journals - Comments

S– James 4:2-3
 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

O– Great sin can come from desires that are not met.  A feeling of lack in material things can cause one to covet and even have murderous thoughts. Covet is defined:  ”to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others.” Instead, we must ASK the Lord. Asking does 2 things: 1) Asking the Lord for what we desire has a purifying effect.  As we come before the Lord, entering His presence, He will purify our heart through the conviction of the Holy Spirit which enables us to set our heart in alignment with His will. We change our desires to become like His desires. 2) When we ASK, bringing a petition, we acknowledge His Kingship in our lives. The act of asking shows that we see Him as our King and respect and want His will, not ours.  We should bring our small and large requests to God and allow Him to guide and direct our steps.  This is dependence upon God. Independence from God is Sin.

A– Many times I tend towards self-reliance instead of dependence upon God. Logically, I can reason that God gave me gifts, he gave me creativity so I can figure it out.  I often say to myself, “I can find a way to meet my own needs through my gifts and talents”.  While God did give me gifts and talents and creativity, they must be submitted to God.  Anything else is prideful arrogance which is sin. I need to start my day in devotion to God but as I go throughout the day, I also need to bring my issues, my requests, to God in Prayer as I’m faced with them. Prayer does not have to be long to be effective. By doing this, I will be doing God’s will and He will be faithful to answer prayers which may not always be a “Yes” answer. In the cases where God says “No”, I can bask in the protection and safety of the Lord, knowing that His will is sovereign and He knows Best. 

P– Lord I humble myself before You today. You are my God. You are my King. Thanks Lord that I can bring my small and large requests to You with confidence that You will hear and that You will answer. I trust Your answer is what is best for me and I thank You God for loving me.  Amen. Pastor Greg