What does it look like to be radically dependent on God in a world of American abundance?
I am reading the book, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream by David Platt. I am not very far into the book, but I am really enjoying learning David Platt’s view of the gospel and where American church fits in the Kingdom of God.
In a chapter titled “The Importance of Relying on God’s Power” Platt makes this statement:
God delights in using ordinary Christians who come to the end of themselves and choose to trust in his extraordinary provision. He stands ready to allocate his power to all who are radically dependent on him and radically devoted to making much of him.
Coming to the End of Ourselves
This past Summer Daniel and I definitely came to the end of ourselves and made a choice to rely on God. We had done our best to make Daniel’s business work and make enough money to cover all the bills. Then we did something a little crazy. We barely had any money, but we payed our tithe and prayed Malachi 3: 6-12. We said, “Okay, God. We are testing you just as your scripture told us to do.” That Summer was hard, but God came through on his promise. We will never doubt the power of obedience to the tithe again.
Radically Dependent on Him
I believe to be radically dependent on God means that we have to pray for His provision every day and thank him for what he has given us.
Right now I am seeing 2 years of desperate prayers for provision being answered. I am tempted to stop asking for God to provide when He is already providing the income we need to pay off our debt. This week I realized that I had stopped praying for God’s provision and I had stopped thanking him for his provision. I was certainly grateful and excited, but I wasn’t being conscious of my thankful heart in my prayer time. I told Daniel about my conviction and we prayed together.
Later that morning we decided to have a budget meeting. We had everything squared away until Daniel called our mortgage company to check the status of a homeowner assistance application. If we were approved we’d be immediately caught up, but the application has been in process for 5 months and we decided to get caught up on what we owe without any assistance. We wanted to make a large partial payment from our January debt snowball money, but the mortgage company’s procedure for those who are behind requires paying the balance in full. We are $500 short on that amount and we couldn’t find an extra $500 before the end January. In February we would have to make the same payment plus an additional month to become current.
Daniel and I went back and prayed again. Daniel specifically prayed that an extra $500 in sales would come in this week to make up the difference for the mortgage payment. That day a website ran a 24 hour promotion and his modules sold over $2,400 more than we forecasted. WHAT!? WE ARE FLOORED. In February we will be able to get completely caught up on our mortgage debt. (Daniel is going to write about the saga of our mortgage later.)
God doesn’t always answer us right away, but I am so grateful that he did. We both felt like the answered prayer confirmed the budget decisions we had made earlier in the day and it confirmed that we need to always keep praying for provision and to be thankful for what he has given us [Psalm 63: 3-8]. I want to stay completely dependent on God’s power especially when Daniel is getting a steady paycheck.
Radically Devoted to Making Much of Him
Daniel and I both made a decision last Summer to be more bold about our faith, but I feel like we have miles to go in this area. My prayer is that the decisions we make with our money, our jobs, how we spend the majority of our time, and where we spend our time will bring glory to Him. I want to learn more about leading others in Bible study and how to share my faith. Ultimately Daniel and I want to travel the globe with our family to share the gospel.
My heart bursts when I think about all that He has done for us not just with our finances, but what he has done for us for eternity. I can’t help but want to share about it here on Life With a Mission and to anyone else who will listen.
How about you? When life gets good again do you forget to keep depending on God through prayer?
* Photo Courtesy of eteela (Creative Commons)
Thank you, this was very timely for me.
Thank you, Bre. I am so glad that you were able to be encouraged from the post.
Excellent post, Amanda. My wife and I had a conversation about this very thing last night. I’ve been self-employed for five years now. We were very consciously dependent on God those first few years. However, the past couple of years things have consistently picked up and we’ve had a more steady income stream. It’s become very easy to lose our dependence on God in all of that. Something could change tomorrow that turns everything upside down. Your post is a great reminder to look back and see all the times that God came through and things worked out…often just in the nick of time.
PS – I’ve read Radical – fantastic and challenging book.
PPS – Say hi to Daniel for me.
Wow, Dave, thank you! I almost feel like it is greedy to keep praying for provision when there is a steady income, but the point isn’t that we need more. It is acknowledging that all of it is from him to begin with and to always give thanksgiving. You are right. He could take something away tomorrow, but you’d still have the faith and reminder that God does come through. It’s like when God told the Israelites, “Don’t forget that it was I who brought you out of Egypt.” I don’t want to forget all that he does for us.