It was five minutes before my organic chemistry lab began and I was ten minutes away by bicycle. I’m late! I rushed out of my college dorm, frantically pedaling to beat the clock. I knew that if I cut across the quad, I would be able to shave off a few minutes. As I approached the grassy area, it was bordered by a raised sidewalk. I had already bypassed the ramp but no worries, I would simply jump from my front wheel over the curb. It was a jump that I had successfully navigated hundreds of times but on this day, my judgment was impaired and instead of lifting my front wheel over the curb, it landed squarely at an acute angle. The force brought the bicycle to an abrupt halt and the momentum catapulted me forward over the handlebars. With no time to cushion my fall, I landed squarely on my face.
Ow!
Dazed, I lifted myself up from the curb and was instantly aware of searing pain and blood filling my mouth and running from my chin. This was not good. Forget the lab, I needed to get to the college infirmary. Unfortunately, it lacked the resources to adequately treat me and quickly arranged for an ambulance to take me to the closest hospital emergency room. I required stitches on my chin and lower lip and my front teeth displayed numerous micro-fractures. I hobbled back to my lab, over two hours late.
Accidents occur when we take shortcuts in our usual routines. I was overconfident in my abilities to navigate the obstacles. It wasn’t the first time. In my spiritual walk with God, I often take God’s blessings for granted. Instead of thanking Him for His grace and mercy, I become self-centered and overconfident in my abilities to deal with any situation or problem that comes my way. God blesses us for many reasons. He loves us. He wants us to delight in Him. And sometimes, we may never know the true and complete explanations of why God cares for us until we are in His glorious presence in Heaven. However, one Truth is clear. God does not give us His blessings so that we may believe we are self-sufficient and do not need Him.
And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.
Deuteronomy 6:10-13 (ESV)
God blesses us so that we will be more dependent upon Him. There are no short-cuts. We do not need to become self-confident, only God-confident.
Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.
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