Francois Fenelon noted that, “God needs nothing that is in us. He can never find anything there except what He Himself has given us.” How often do we stop to ponder that? In the midst of chasing success, building relationships, and achieving new accomplishments, it becomes easy to become impressed with ourselves.
We are so impressed that we can’t wait to point out how amazing we are to others as well. But there is nothing that we ever achieve that God has not put in us. We are nothing on our own. It’s one thing to acknowledge this, but quite another to live as if it were really true.
In order to follow Christ perfectly we must dispense with any notion that we are sufficient on our own. There is nothing we can handle without Him. Even the “easy stuff” would be impossible if not for the capabilities He instilled within each of us. In our vanity and conceit we imagine that we are more than we are. Satan’s original lie was to make us think there was more to life than God Himself. The serpent convinced Eve that God was holding back on her and that she could be like God if only she would take things into her own hands. It’s the same lie Satan continues to tell us today.
You would think we would have learned our lesson by now. We are safest and happiest when we rely on God for everything and stop trying to find alternate paths on our own. God has given us every key to a joyous life. In the person of Jesus He demonstrated the life we were designed to live. All we have to do is trust in His character, to believe He is everything He claims to be. It’s so simple and yet we continue to buy the lie that there is something more; that we are missing out on life if all we do is follow Christ.
How arrogant that we think we are possibly smarter, more creative, or more insightful than God. We would not even be smart, creative, or insightful except that God put those things inside when He created us. In this instance, the student can never become greater than the Master because the Master is God Himself. Still, we continue to thrash, seeking our own way despite knowing full well that it leads only to destruction.
God needs nothing from us. We can add nothing to Him. And yet, He loves us and longs for us to live in a perfect relationship with Him. He created us for this reason alone, but He leaves the choice up to us. We can continue to believe that we are self-sufficient, greater than any who have come before us, and able to find peace, joys, satisfaction, and happiness through our own undertakings and apart from Him. That is the way of Satan. It is the way of pride, rebellion, and death. Everything we will ever need or desire is found in Jesus. Accepting that truth is the most important decision we will ever make.