DEPENDING ON GOD
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
– Proverbs 3:5-6
God calls us all to live in dependence on Him. It’s not just a Reconciled World thing. But we want it to define us so that:
We will bear fruit that lasts
“Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.” John 15:4
The Bible is clear—without God we aren’t going to get far. Everything we can get done using our own talents, creativity, and hard work is insignificant compared to the fruit God wants to bring. In fact, Jesus says without remaining in Him we can’t bear any fruit at all.
That doesn’t mean we expect that by remaining in Christ Reconciled World will grow into a massive organization. Rather, our desire is that we will bear the fruit that God intends, fruit that lasts. We recognize that God’s standards aren’t the same as ours. His standards are better.
We will be effective in spiritual battle
Ephesians 6 reminds us that “we do not fight against flesh and blood but against rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Great tools and resources alone cannot fix the brokenness in our world. If they could, then the trillions of dollars and millions of brilliant minds already dedicated to end poverty would have solved the problem by now. Funds and great programs are not enough. We are fighting a spiritual battle. We need God. Desperately.
How this impacts our work
In our work, we are intentional to take time away for prayer, listening to God, and following His leading. We believe that God will bring the partners, funds, and ideas. Most of all, we believe we need to do what He has called us to. The success of our work is a battle we fight on our knees, not just out in the field.
As we seek to apply this principle, we keep asking ourselves:
- Where is my trust? In God or in my own efforts?
- What am I defining as success? God’s definition or mine?
- How am I responding to challenges? Am I praying more and seeking God’s perspective, or just working harder?
- Where am I gaining ideas—through listening to God or just following other people?
- What am I expecting will bring change—a great program or God’s power?
“It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was Your right hand, Your arm and the light of Your face, for You loved them.” Psalm 44:3
Examples From Our Work
Truth Centered Transformation – One of the key aspects of depending on God is pointing the vulnerable people we work with to God, helping them see Him—not us—as the source of wisdom and resources. Through the years, He has been faithful to answer their prayers with both miraculous provision and wisdom. Early in the pilot of Truth Centered Transformation, trainers from one area came to us with a problem—the communities where they were training had no clean water. We were heartbroken over this, but we had no budget, equipment, or expertise to help. So we told the trainers to continue teaching churches to obey God and love their neighbors. Soon after, as one church prayed about how to show love to their neighbors, they felt God wanted them to dig a well by hand. After two days of taking turns with a shovel, they struck water! Other churches followed their example, and soon there were hundreds of wells in the area!
‘DEPENDING ON GOD’ BOOKLET
If you want to go deeper in understanding what this principle is and how you can apply it – this booklet gives more information.
GO DEEPER
If you want to learn more about this principle and how to apply it, you can find articles and a free downloadable booklet at the Framework for Transformation website.
FROM THE BLOG
Here are two of our favorite blog posts related to the core principle Depending on God. You can read more related posts here.
Depending on God: From Principle to Practice
The fact is, all of us depend on God whether we want to or not. “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) We literally wouldn’t be breathing without God holding us together. But…let’s be honest, breathing *feels* like something I can handle on my own.
Depending on God
For the last twenty years, one of my constant prayers has been, “Father, make me aware of my desperate dependence on you.” It’s a crazy prayer in some ways. I think that prayer is partly responsible for the fact that my life often feels a little out of control—which, for a girl that likes control, is uncomfortable.