Independence Day, with all its traditions — fireworks, cookouts, family get-togethers — is a happy time, as we celebrate the freedoms we enjoy in our nation.
God celebrates freedom, too. He wants all people to be free. 2 Corinthians 3:17 assures us, “… Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” But in His kingdom, we achieve freedom through dependence, not independence. When we depend on Him, we find true liberty.
This is so hard for our natural minds to understand. That is why man-made religions all promote saving ourselves by doing good works. We naturally think we should be able to save ourselves, if we just strive hard enough. Even in Christianity, where we understand depending, by faith alone, on Jesus’ death on the cross for our salvation, we tend to let Jesus take care of the salvation part, but then we try to control our lives, make our success happen, and “do our thing” for Jesus – and then expect Him to bless it.
Derek Prince comments, “God brings us to the place of total dependence upon Himself to demonstrate that He is totally dependable.” God wants us to know He will always come through for us, and so He takes us through some shaky situations to show us just how trustworthy He is. He will never let us down.
Think about how little children are. They are totally dependent, yet they live in carefree innocence. In a normal home, it doesn’t occur to children that their parents would not feed them, clothe them, and meet every need. They have true freedom. God wants to restore this freedom through dependence to the rest of us. It was the dependence issue Jesus was addressing when He said, “Whoever will not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter into it” (Luke 18:17).
Again quoting Derek Prince, “The more completely I depend on God, the more He surprises me by the results that follow – results that I could never have achieved as long as I depended on my own efforts.”
People of God, it’s time to rise up into true freedom – the freedom found only in complete dependence on our Father in heaven.
* Derek Prince quotes taken from his book, Rules of Engagement.
Filed under: Apostolic, Apostolic Regional Centers, Bible, Bible studies, Charismatic, Christian, Christian Teaching, Christianity, Church, Devotional, Encouragement, Five-fold ministry, God, Jesus, Nondenominational, Pentecostal, Religion, Spirituality, Wisconsin Apostolic Regional Centers, Wisconsin churches | Tagged: 4th of July, dependence, Derek Prince, freedom, God's kingdom, Independence Day, kingdom of God, kingdom of heaven, liberty, Rules of Engagement, trusting God
