He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ [Deuteronomy 8.16-17]
Man has a real problem and that real problem is himself. There is therefore good reason God stated very clearly in Exodus that He alone is God.
“You must not have any other god but me. [Exodus 20.3]
As desirable as self-sufficiency sounds to mankind, it is the most dangerous of all human traits. Man's self-sufficiency, an ability given by God, is the very thing that man turns against God with.
I think I will define humility here in my own words: Humility is the character trait found in one who recognizes his freewill ability to meet his own needs, but refuses to trust himself to meet those needs in holy deference to God Who gave that freewill ability.
In this age of "advanced" everything, man has little to look to God for (or so he thinks). Advanced financial systems allow man to purchase that which he otherwise could not afford. Advanced medicines allow man to heal himself. Advanced meteorology allows man to predict the weather. Advanced science allow man to understand his environment. This list could go on and on...
But God will bring us to the point of "manna." Why? To convince us that we don't know as much as we think we do. Why? Because He alone is God and He will not allow us the eternally deadly 'luxury' of depending upon ourselves.
If we have an explanation and solution for everything, then we don't need God. It is only God's love and mercy then that "yanks that rug out from under us." Otherwise, there is effectively no hope for one who fails to come to the question, "what is it?"
It was necessary that God build independence into man so that he could truly be made "in the image of God." However, that independence - that freewill - is ironically nothing apart from God Who gave it even though it deceivingly (albeit temporarily) appears otherwise.
Difficulties in life say nothing to us if we do not understand them as God's way of drawing us back to Him (yes, they inherently imply we have wandered away). One of the tragedies of modern society is the phrase, "I've got this." Likewise, one puts himself in the literal damning position of false prophet to declare to another, "You've got this." Deuteronomy 8.16-17 tells us unequivocally that God does not want us to rely on anything or anyone but Him, and Him ALONE!
What would our lives look like if we truly believed God and God alone?
The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. [Exodus 14.14]
If we truly believed God, our lives would always be calm! On the other hand, if we don't, or only partially believe God, then we are left to our own hustle and busy-ness to only (*hopefully) come to a "what is it?" (manna) situation (*worst case scenario is that we don't come to a "what is it?" situation and spend the rest of our lives in unbelief and therefore all eternity in hell).
Any time we are tempted to rejoice in the accomplishments of man (including our own), we should remember that that temptation is strictly and purposefully targeted at us to send us to hell by way of unbelief in God alone.
But we can't just do nothing, right?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. [James 2.17]
Our only commission and purpose in life is to DO the works of CHRIST - Christ in me and me in Christ!
Father, forgive me for my thoughts of self-sufficiency (and You know I err greatly in this). May I be found calmly resigned to Your care alone without a even a hint of self-sufficiency. May my faith be reserved for You alone demonstrating nothing of my own (or man's) doing, but everything of the works of Christ in me.
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