By the time I had gotten married, I had lived on my own for a number of years. I had learned how to live fiercely independent as a single woman. I loved my season of single independence. If I didn’t know how to do something, I figured it out. I became pretty self-sufficient and unafraid to try new things during that season. That attitude served me well while I was single; however, as a newly married woman, I had to learn to let some of that go.
As someone who craves change, I am constantly rearranging my furniture. I remember rearranging my living room once in the early part of our marriage. I was moving big pieces of furniture by myself. My husband just shook his head and asked, “Why don’t you just wait til I can help you? Why do you have to be so independent?” I just figured why should I wait when I can do it myself. The idea of depending upon someone else for what I want or need has never come easily for me. As you can imagine, God had His work cut out for Him when He was teaching me to let go of my independent spirit and to create more of a dependence upon Him.
In Deuteronomy 11, God was giving the Israelites a glimpse into how living in the Promised Land would look. Specifically, in Deuteronomy 11:10-11, it says,
“The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to the end.”
The Israelites were used to irrigating their own gardens from the overflow of the flooded Nile once a year. It was something they knew. Something they did regularly and without much thought. They didn’t need God’s help or provision. They were independent. But God was calling them to the Promised Land, a land of hills and valleys, which depended upon the rain from heaven for their crops to grow. They couldn’t do what they used to do. There was a new way being introduced — dependency.
Just like the Israelites, He has plans and purposes for us, but we must know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He cares more for those purposes playing out than we can even imagine. It says our Promised Land is a land that the Lord cares for. His eyes are continually on it from beginning of the year to the end. He is trustworthy!
What promises has He given you? Are you patiently waiting for the rain to come, for those promises to come to fruition? Or are you trying to water them yourself? An independent spirit is highly valued in our American society, but at what cost? Are we short changing ourselves by trying to do the impossible in our own strength? Or are we, like little children, coming to our Father and asking Him to bring the rain? Independence and self-sufficiency (pride) may be highly prized in our culture, but dependency upon Him is highly prized in His eyes! We, as Christians, live in a different culture — a spiritual one.
