Spiritual Maturity Step 5: Depend on God • DDCommunity

Choosing righteous living is enabled by depending on God. He is all we need.

Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him! (Ps. 34:8 CSB)

Jesus has all authority.

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18–20 NASB).

“And on that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full” (John 16:23–24 NASB).

When we ask in Jesus’ name, we are mindful of who God is, all the ways He has worked in the past, and what a difference it makes that Jesus died to pay for our sins. Praying according to God’s character aligns our expectations with the reality of who He is and what He has promised.

I need God.

“Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jer. 33:3 NASB).

Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Take these people up to the Promised Land.’ But you haven’t told me whom you will send with me. You call me by name and tell me I have found favor with you. Please, if this is really so, show me your intentions so I will understand you more fully and do exactly what you want me to do. Besides, don’t forget that this nation is your very own people.”
And the Lord replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses. I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.”
Then Moses said, “If you don’t go with us personally, don’t let us move a step from this place. If you don’t go with us, how will anyone ever know that your people and I have found favor with you? How else will they know we are special and distinct from all other people on the earth?”
And the Lord replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for you have found favor with me, and you are my friend.”
Exodus 33:12–17 NLT

Depend on God for strength.

Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (Rom. 8:26–27 NASB). Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word (2 Thess. 2:16–17 NASB).

I will raise my eyes to the mountains; from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who watches over you will not slumber. Behold, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your protector; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not beat down on you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time and forever. (Ps. 121:1–8 NASB)

Be confident in the Lord.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isa. 40:28–31 ESV). Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth (Ps. 124:8 NASB).

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand (Isa. 41:10 CSB). For I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, who says to you, “Do not fear, I will help you” (Isa. 41:13 CSB).

From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him (Isa. 64:4 ESV). The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him (Nahum 1:7 ESV). Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock (Isa. 26:4 ESV).

Depend on God.

For this is what the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isa. 30:15 NASB).

Lord, be gracious to us! We wait for you. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble (Isa. 33:2 CSB). Establish my footsteps in Your word, and do not let any wrongdoing have power over me (Ps. 119:133 NASB).

Of course we are human, but we don’t fight like humans. The weapons we use in our fight are not made by humans. Rather, they are powerful weapons from God. With them we destroy people’s defenses, that is, their arguments and all their intellectual arrogance that oppose the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:3–5 GW).

Because Jesus has all authority, I can depend on God for everything I need. He is my strength, my refuge, and my resting place. I can confidently trust in the Lord! And so can you!

More Steps to Spiritual Maturity

Dive deeper into As a Little Child: Conversations with the Father 10 Steps to Spiritual Maturity with these posts:

As a Little Child: Conversations with the Father Cover

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