No Co-Dependency!
Many of us have grown up learning to “pull ourselves up by our boot-straps”
We have been taught that, “God helps those… who help themselves.”
“When the going gets tough,… the Tough get going.”
These may sound good, but really are unbiblical and destructive.
These sayings are “co-dependent” types of doctrine
Co-dependency means anything that aids you in self-destructive behavior (substances, people, adrenaline, etc.)
However, The worst self-destructive behavior is not trusting God!
Even these sayings, though they may sound motivating, responsible and self-sufficient – are actually destructive.
They are mindsets that foster a lifestyle of not trusting God.
Matt 6:25-34
25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
26 "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
29 "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, ’What shall we eat?’ or ’What shall we drink?’ or ’What shall we wear?’
Jesus is not having a 1970s, flower-child, retro- flashback here (It’s all groovy, so, don’t worry - be happy)
He is trying to get us to see the big picture
If we really consider God our Father, our Provider, our Shelter, our Healer… then we should never look further than Him to meet our needs
When we do, then we are not trusting God
We become co-dependent
Dependent on something or someone other than God
We think God doesn’t understand that importance or seriousness of our situation.
32 "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
If we will seek Him first, if we will seek His ways, If we will seek His Word - all the other things are added
Not just our needs but even our wants (our desires)
We live in a society full of stress, anxiety, and worry
We live in a society looking for answers, looking for relief, looking for satisfaction (looking for love in all the wrong places)
God is our all in all – He is the great I AM
People even try to work out (earn) their salvation
God is our supply! El Shaddai – The all sufficient one
Jer 17:5-8
5 Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD.
6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.
7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.
We literally curse ourselves by trying to do things in our own strength.
“God Is My Co-Pilot” bumper-sticker – if God is your co-pilot, then switch seats!
We put our trust in Him – then blessing comes (vs 8)
This doesn’t mean we sit on our amazing grace and do nothing, but what we do is directed by Him
Psa 1 – Whatever we put our hands to will prosper
We have to quit trying to scheme it out, figure it out, work it out, tough it out, and depend solely on the Lord.
Ps 37:4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
He gives us our desires, that is, He imparts desires within us.
This is two-fold in meaning
He places desires within our hearts, then He fulfills them
Deut 28:1-2
1 "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
2 "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
If we will keep our eyes on Jesus and seek Him, seek His Kingdom, the blessings start start seeking us
This makes our life wonderfully simplistic and worry free
Deut 28:15-16
15 "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 "Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.
Just like Jeremiah describes, this is a cursed place to be in.
We must yield ourselves TOTALLY to His will, TOTALLY place our trust in Him
Ps 34:8-10
8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
Ps 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.
This is really simple theology
God makes it easy for us, seek Him, hear Him, obey Him and He will take care of the rest
No co-dependency! Instead full dependency on Him
