Let us Repent of Self-Reliance

Awaiting the theme for today’s devotion, I started to feel a bit impatient since nothing was coming to mind and time and tide, as usual, were not waiting. With time ticking on, I started thinking of what I could possibly write about.

I must admit that as I continued to sit with my brain devoid of any sensible thought, and on the verge of slipping into a woe-is-me mood, I had to laugh, as I realised the irony of my self-manufactured plight. You see, I was relying on myself rather than just being patient and waiting, as I normally do, for Spirit’s guidance.

“Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;” (Psalm 37:7 NRSVUE)

Lesson learnt, I promptly repented, gave up my own thought process, changed direction and turned to God.

What have you given up in this season of sacrifice? Are you fasting as our Lord Jesus fasted in the desert? Are you relying on God to see you through or are you trudging on relying on your own unreliable fleshly self?

Shortly after He was baptized by John the Baptist and anointed by the Holy Spirit in the River Jordan, Luke 4:1-3 tells us that it was the same Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

During this time, Jesus was tempted to the utmost regarding each one of the instinctual needs of humanity. It was a period of extreme testing – a spiritual battle between His divinity and His humanity.

We often give up indulging in the things we most enjoy, and though our sacrifice can never be compared to what Jesus endured in that desert, we do experience our own battle with the same temptations.

But how can we endure such trials?

The entire time that Jesus spent in that desert, He did not rely on His human self, instead with every offer of Satan to get Him to compromise, Jesus responded with Scripture.

He stood firm and defeated Satan’s temptation to take a shortcut to nowhere. If His integrity had been broken then, where would we be now?

Like our Lord Jesus, we must remain steadfast in our resolve to not yield to the devil’s enticements. We must hold fast to the Word of God, rely completely on the Holy Spirit’s leading and fill the atmosphere with praise and prayer.

In Romans 12:1, and 8:13, Paul exhorts us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, and to “put to death the misdeeds of the body” by complete submission to the Holy Spirit of God. Paul is speaking about the spiritual sacrifice God desires, the true Lenten sacrifice.

In this season of Lent, and beyond, I encourage all of us to focus on higher things rather than our comforts and pleasures, follow Jesus’ example as outlined in Luke 4:1-13…

And as we reflect on Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, may we trust the Holy Spirit for guidance as we continue…on our spiritual path, and let us determine to turn away from our self-reliance and turn to God in utter dependence.

Amen†

 

Shelley Johnson “Let us Repent of Self-Reliance” © March 8, 2025