WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
OCTOBER 10, 2023
TOPIC: DON’T SEEK INDEPENDENCE FROM GOD
BY T. O. BANSO
“And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living” (Luke 15:12-13 New King James Version).
God created man to be dependent on Him, not to be independent of Him. But many human beings seek to live independently of God. They want to be masters of their lives. They do not want to subject themselves to the commands of God. They want to follow their rules and live the way they choose to, contrary to the Word of God.
God didn’t create man for himself or herself. God created man for Himself. We do not exist for ourselves but for Him. “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created” (Revelation 4:11 New King James Version). Therefore, we should not seek independence from Him but depend on Him. In physical development, as somebody grows he becomes less dependent on his parents but in spiritual development, the more we grow, the more we should become dependent on Him.
We should never think of seeking independence from God because He created us for Himself and we will always need Him. As Paul said to the Athenians, “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring’” (Acts 17:26-28 New International Version).
God created all His creatures to depend on Him. Psalm 104:24-28 says, “Lord, you have made so many things! How wisely you made them all! The earth is filled with your creatures. There is the ocean, large and wide, where countless creatures live, large and small alike. The ships sail on it, and in it plays Leviathan, that sea monster which you made. All of them depend on you to give them food when they need it. You give it to them, and they eat it; you provide food, and they are satisfied” (Today’s English Version). Note the phrase “All of them depend on you to give them food when they need it.” Psalm 104:21 says, “Then the young lions roar for their food, but they are dependent on the Lord” (The Living Bible). If the young lions depend on God, man, created in the image of God, should also.
God created man for dependence on Him, not independence from Him. In one of the parables of Jesus, He says, “A nobleman living in a certain province was called away to the distant capital of the empire to be crowned king of his province. Before he left he called together ten assistants and gave them each $2,000 to invest while he was gone. But some of his people hated him and sent him their declaration of independence, stating that they had rebelled and would not acknowledge him as their king” (Luke 19:12-14 The Living Bible). Note the phrase “sent him their declaration of independence, stating that they had rebelled and would not acknowledge him as their king.” The New King James Version renders it as “sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’”
That was a wrong thing to do which had a grave consequence. There are many today who have declared their independence from God and they cannot escape the consequences of this decision unless they repent and return to Him.
In that parable, after the return of the nobleman and his servants had given an account of their stewardship to him, he revisited the case of those who sent him their declaration of independence, saying that they would not acknowledge him as their king. Luke 19:27 says, “And now about these enemies of mine who revolted-bring them in and execute them before me” (The Living Bible). Psalm 9:17 says the wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God. People who declare their independence from God will not spend eternity with Him. Their portion is in hellfire. If they live independently of Him on earth, it is only logical that they live separately from Him in eternity.
Salvation on earth is the beginning of living dependent on God. The sinner lives independent of God but the saint lives dependent on Him. The more intimate the saint walks with Him, the more he is dependent on Him. Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:5-6 New King James Version).
The sinners seek independence from God and live independently of Him. In Luke 15, the prodigal son (the sinner) sought independence from his father (God). “And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living” (Luke 15:12-13 New King James Version).
This son was tired of staying under the government of his father. He was impatient to receive his inheritance. He went against the common practice of fathers willingly distributing their properties to their children, not the children demanding their shares. Nevertheless, his father granted his request. But this young son not only received his share of his father’s goods but also declared his independence from his father. He wanted autonomy and, therefore, travelled to a far country where he wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
He soon began to suffer the consequences of his wrong decision. He should have stayed back home and let his father see how he was managing the inheritance he had collected but because he wanted independence from his father, he travelled to a far country where he wasted his possessions with riotous living.
Luke 15:14-16 says, “But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything” (New King James Version). But when he came back to his senses, he returned home and his father, who had been anxiously waiting for his return, welcomed him back. The prodigal son suffered the consequences of seeking independence from his father. Today, a similar fate awaits those who seek independence from God. God didn’t create man to live independently of Him.
Don’t seek independence from God. Isaiah 30:1-3 says, “‘Woe to the rebellious children,’ says the Lord, ‘Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and trust in the shadow of Egypt shall be your humiliation” (New King James Version). In this scripture, you can see that the Jews acted independently of God. They later suffered the consequences.
Don’t seek independence from God. The Israelites, in the days of Samuel, asked him to make them a king to judge them like all the nations (1 Samuel 8:5; 8:19-20). God saw that as a rejection of Him and His reign over them (1 Samuel 8:7). Don’t reject God’s rule over you. Don’t seek independence from Him so that you can do what pleases you rather than what pleases Him. Don’t seek independence from Him so that you can do what seems right in your eyes (Judges 17:6; 21:25). As the Bible says, there is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25).
Don’t seek independence from God. Always depend on Him. “Depend on the Lord in whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3 New Century Version). David says, “I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender, and I shall never be defeated” (Psalm 62:5-6 Today’s English Version). Depend on God alone.
In Psalm 22:10, David also says, “I have been dependent on you since birth; from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God” (New English Translation Bible). Furthermore, David talks about his dependence on God in Psalm 39:12: “Hear my prayer, O LORD! Listen to my cry for help! Do not ignore my sobbing! For I am dependent on you, like one residing outside his native land; I am at your mercy, just as all my ancestors were” (New English Translation Bible).
Depend on God; don’t seek to be independent of Him. “Depend on the Lord and his strength; always go to him for help” (1 Chronicles 16:11 New Century Version). Depend on God, not on your wisdom. “Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding. Remember the Lord in all you do, and he will give you success. Don’t depend on your own wisdom. Respect the Lord and refuse to do wrong” (Proverbs 3:5-7 New Century Version).
Depend on God for safety, not on your wealth or possessions. “Look, here is a man who did not depend on God for safety, but trusted instead in his great wealth and looked for security in being wicked” (Psalm 52:7 Today’s English Version).
Don’t seek independence from God; depend on Him. There are great benefits in depending on God and not on self, man, or possessions. “The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him” (Lamentation 3:25 New Living Translation). Also, Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You” (Holman Christian Standard Bible). Independence from God is equal to bondage or slavery. Don’t self-destruct. True freedom is in God. Don’t seek independence from God.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Holy Spirit, help me to depend on God for everything, including direction, protection, and provision. Father, I shall not seek independence from You but completely depend on You all the days of my life in Jesus’ name.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
