Beginning at the End of Ourselves – The importance of relying on God’s power

More irony. The United States of America was founded as One Nation Under God. Our money says, “In God We Trust.” Our founding Fathers wanted the right to pursue liberty, justice and happiness without a king determining their rights and religion. And somehow, over the course of more than 200 years, we stopped pursuing God and started pursuing the American Dream.

Pursuing God means trusting Him with where He leads us, even if He leads us across oceans and vast amounts of land. No, now we are raised to believe that we can “be all that we can be” and “can have it your way” and “the sky’s the limit.” We believe that anyone can grow up to be President of this country and not because God gives you the authority, but because you work hard and you earn it.

Okay, I’ve oversimplified. But I know I was raised to be independent, self-sufficient, to work and study hard. I was lead to believe that anything was possible if I put the time and effort into it.

AND

I was raised to know God and Jesus and be baptized in the Holy Spirit and to go to church and Sunday School on Sundays. I attended a parochial school where I learned God’s Word.

BUT

I needed to work hard, get a good job and earn money to support myself and family so I could have a nice house and a nice car. And if I worked hard enough and obtained a very good job, I might just be able to have a very nice house and a very nice car and very nice clothes as well.

AND

I needed to raise my children to know God and Jesus and continue to attend worship services and return a portion of my blessings to God and discover my Spiritual Gifts so I could put them to good use at the church.

BUT

The two never really met. And we wonder why there is such a disconnect. And it is oversimplifying again to say that we’re good Christians on Sunday mornings and we leave it all behind during the rest of the week. It implies that we don’t sin while we’re at church, but we lose all self-control once we’re out of the pew. I would go so far as to say that we’ve been raised that way. To keep the two separate. We are to be one thing for church and to be another thing at work.

And so now, some of us are seeing the disconnect and want desperately to change, but we are trapped.

We need to glorify God through allowing Him to work through our weakness. He loves to do that! We need to relinquish our American ideal to be the best and take credit for everything we do.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
John 14:12-14 (ESV)