Wherever it is found, self-sufficiency is man’s supreme folly. When Christians attempt to go in their own wisdom and strength this is, in fact, a denial of their faith.
The world is full of people who are groping, longing, hungry, and anxious for something which they have never found but the need for which is a gnawing reality.
Basic to this is the completeness of man’s need. In no vital area is man sufficient in himself. He needs strength, wisdom, guidance, help, and victory which he can never supply from his own resources. “For without me ye can do nothing,” is always valid.
It is because of this that men and nations find themselves adrift today—with weakness instead of strength, foolishness instead of wisdom, groping instead of guidance, helplessness where help is desperately needed, and defeat instead of victory.
In God’s wisdom the dilemma of man is met only as he realizes the completeness of his need. Where pride intervenes, the door is closed. Where there is ignorance, this ignorance must be dispelled by the truth of the Gospel. Where there is unbelief, this must be supplanted by faith.
The more a Christian matures, the more he understands the completeness of his own need. This is revealed by the Holy Spirit, creating a dependence which God honors in the fulfilling of his promises.
This has been experienced by many Christians to the end that peace came to their hearts in a new way while at the same time God revealed the completeness of his faithfulness.
There are times when we are overwhelmed by the multiplicity of issues which defy solution. Personal problems become baffling in their complications; loved ones are confronted with adverse developments; friends become prey to the devices of Satan; the world in which we live becomes so confused that there seems no solution to its problems.
At times like this the Christian often lives like a beggar in the midst of plenty, like an orphan in the presence and power of his Heavenly Father, like an ignorant fool in the wisdom which comes from above.
When he becomes excited and goes out in his own wisdom to solve his problems or those of others, he but complicates the situation for all concerned.
There are times when God wants his children to stand still and see the wonder of his solutions. Such was true when the children of Israel found themselves pursued by the Egyptians. To them Moses said: “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be still” (Exod. 14:13, 14).
The Psalmist knew man’s propensity to become despondent when confronted with what seem to be unsurmountable odds. In Psalm 37 David writes of the apparent triumph of evil men and counsels God’s children not to fret because of that which they see, nor to be envious of sin’s temporary ascendancy.
At such a time the Christian is to put his trust in the Lord, knowing that in so doing he is trusting the One who has not only the answer but also the final word.
We are further admonished to “take delight in the Lord,” for it is in times of man’s extremity that He stretches forth his mighty arm to save.
Then the Psalmist gives us this telling advice: “Commit your way to the Lord.” How faithful are we in doing this? Do we not too often try to work out the solutions to our problems without reference to the only One who can really solve them for us?
To “be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him” is an exercise of faith too few of us exhibit. It is so hard to be still in the presence of God, so much easier to be up and doing. Even in our prayers we are so busy talking to God that sometimes he has no chance to speak to us. Indeed we often try to cover up our own failures by an increasing amount of talk—thinking that we can divert God from our true state!
“Wait for the Lord, and keep his way,” is David’s further advice. For many of us waiting is not easy. We want to have the answer, see the solution, right now—and if God does not give it in our way and when we demand it, we soon notice our frustration mounting.
In our failure to admit the completeness of our need in everything and the completeness of God’s provision for every need, we sin against him and bring misery to our own souls.
We need to practice introspection, to examine our own hearts and lives, to pray that the Holy Spirit will show us ourselves as God sees us, in order that we may realize how barren and empty we really are—how great the void which can be filled only by the living Christ. When this occurs the first great battle has been won. Just as illness drives the sufferer to the physician, so the sinfulness and barrenness of man’s soul when it is stripped naked of ignorance or pretense, drive him to the Great Physician who has the cure for sin and the love to apply it.
Yes, the completeness of man’s need is matched only by the completeness of God’s provision.
On the one hand this is the offer of God’s redeeming, keeping, and providing love in Jesus Christ. On the other it is a case of man’s appropriating to himself that which God is offering. Instead of striving to achieve, man comes to rest in that which Christ has achieved for him.
The writer would like to bear personal testimony to the fact that many times in his life he has experienced an overwhelming sense of frustration, need, and weakness only to see God undertake, fulfilling his promises in ways which could only strengthen faith and make his presence and power a reality more precious than anything this world can offer.
We think of an occasion when there was such a multiplicity of problems in which so many people and enterprises were involved that we felt completely helpless—and we were. At that particular time there came over us an overwhelming sense of relief as we realized that all of these could be turned over to our Lord without going into any of them in detail. We simply turned them over to him in faith and knew he would solve each of them in his own way, in his own time, and for his own glory.
The objective result was a blessing for all concerned. The subjective effect was one of unspeakable relief—of peace where there had been strife, hope where there had been uncertainty, surrender where there had been striving, and praise where there had been confusion.
The lesson for us all is this: our need is complete, but his provision is equally complete.
