Pieces of the Puzzle

I say be guided by the Spirit and you won’t carry out your selfish desires. ~Gal 5:16 (CEB)

I have a very independent spirit. I elude myself with the thought that I just don’t want to bother other people when in reality I just don’t want to reach out to others. This is not what God intended for me. He made us for relationships. Being part of a community is not just helping others but also allowing them to reach out to me in my times of need.

It is very easy to carry this independent spirit over into my Christian walk as well. I refuse at times to depend on God. “I’ve got this covered God you can go help someone else who has a bigger need than me”. Relying on myself is self-centeredness. Self-centeredness is selfishness. Selfishness is self-worship. Hmm, I think I remember somewhere reading that I was to have no other gods before God. (Exodus 20:3)

Relying on myself quickly leads to frustration which is a red flag that God has been removed from the situation. Gal 5:16 tells me “be guided by the Spirit and you won’t carry out your selfish desires”. Allowing myself to be guided by the Holy Spirit helps me to keep God in the picture and me out of the center of my focus. God didn’t save us from ourselves in the first place to then just turn around and leave us alone. No, He has eternally saved us, which means if we depend on Him, He will guide us and help us. In allowing Him to guide me, my selfishness begins to subside and frustration becomes less and less of an issue in my daily life.

 Heavenly Father, guide my steps in all I do this day. Thank you for saving me and allowing me to depend on You for guidance in every situation. Please continue to save me from myself. Amen.