We all have areas of our lives where we feel pretty secure in our own abilities – places where we feel self-sufficient. There’s certainly nothing wrong with being able to care for ourselves and bear some of our own burdens, in fact, it’s a sign of maturity. That said, the Biblical narrative seems to warn us against assuming we are self-sufficient with the entirety of our lives; especially when it touches the vast areas of life we just can’t control.
That’s an issue the prophet Micah addresses in the text we’ll be reading this Sunday as part of our ongoing study in that book. We’ll be reading Micah 5:5b-15.
God’s people of Israel and Judah had started feeling quite self-assured in the troubling circumstances that were brewing around them. Through political coalitions, military buildup and attempts at predicting the future, Israel and Judah felt they could handle the growing threat from Assyria.
God begs to differ.
In the remainder of chapter 5 God highlights just where and from whom real deliverance comes from. We’ll dig into that on Sunday.
Where do you feel most self-sufficient in your life? Are there areas where you feel like prayer would only be a last resort if your own efforts didn’t succeed? How can we practice being more God-dependent and lest self-reliant when it comes to our overall approach to life?
I hope you can join us this Sunday as we dig into the words of the prophet!
Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.