I’ve made a good life for myself, why do I still feel like there must be something more?
We would do well to see that God is the source of things, not we ourselves. He is the one who made the garden, supplied the garden with good things, and sustained it from day to day. He is also the one who brought Adam and Eve to each other, realizing that relationship was something they desperately needed. It would be interesting to see what all the fruits were on the trees in the garden. I think they must have included all the wonderful things He blesses us with today. From the earliest pages of the Bible, there is a strong assertion that God is the one “from whom all blessings flow.” As James reminds us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).
The good things of life come from God, pure and simple. He gives life. He sustains life, and He blesses life with all the things we need. The lesson here is that we are to look to God to be our source, not ourselves. He is the one who brings us all the blessings that we ever have, material and immaterial. He brings us people when we need them (Psalm 68:5,6; 2 Corinthians 7:6), our daily needs as we need them (Matthew 6:11), our purpose in life and the gifts to accomplish it (Psalm 25:12; Romans 12:6; Ephesians 2:10), the wisdom and knowledge to light our paths (James 1:5) and many, many other things of life.
The problem comes when we try to take away his position of being the source. We depend only on ourselves and think we are going to be able to provide ourselves with what we need. What a silly idea! But we do it nevertheless. How small our lives, careers, ministries, friendships, and everything are because we do not depend on Him and his plans to give us what we need in all of those areas. As James says, “You do not have, because you do not ask God” (James 4:2).
In the area of our relational needs, to think that we can provide for ourselves the love and support we need is a great heresy. We are not God! So, when we try to be emotionally independent from Him and other people He has given us, we begin dying. Sometimes we see Him only as the source of love in a relationship with Himself. We miss the fact He also gives us people as a source of His love. Part of seeing God as the source and “not we ourselves,” is to utilize the love and support that He supplies through people in His Body. When we love each other, we are realizing the grace of God (1 Peter 4:10).
