Need

I found a little note yesterday.  I uncovered it in a stack of papers as I was tidying up a cluttered corner of my desk. 

It only took a second to remember the day my five-year-old wrote it.  The same child who can't seem to resist a cube-shaped stack of brightly colored sticky notes and some glue.  The same child who has recently started leaving us notes in special places hidden around the house.

We've been studying Asia for the past few weeks here at home.  Along with the land and the culture, we've read stories and accounts of people who'd been called and who'd given their lives to serve in various countries such as India and China.  Amazing people such as Amy Carmichael and Gladys Aylward. 

On this particular day, we were watching a quick video about Asia, specifically the unreached people groups in hard-to-reach, never-heard-of places on this continent.

Several minutes into the video I heard, "How do you spell 'people'?"

"P-E-O-P-L-E"

I didn't ask what she was doing.  I confess I was too preoccupied, eyes to the screen, and so was my oldest daughter.

The result: 

She's right.  We do. 

From the horror in Boston to the tragedy in Texas this week.  We do.
From the conversations I had with my sweet friends last night at the ballfield.  We do.
From the moment we're born, to the moment we take our last breath.  We do.

We want to be independent.  We want to have control.  We want to handle things on our own.  We want to be self-sufficient.

But we can't.

We need Jesus.  And He knows it.

Two of my favorite verses in scripture:

When Jesus says,

"Apart from Me you can do nothing."

John 15:5

and when Paul writes,

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

Both are true.  Put them together and it's like two sticks of dynamite, creating a powerful explosion in our spirits.

Apart from Jesus, we cannot do a thing.  But with Him, we can do anything.  We are self-sufficient because of His sufficiency.

We do need Jesus.  Will you declare that fact today with me?

In the midst of difficulties, in the midst of stress, in the midst of pain and uncertainty, we need Him.

Father, I pray for my friends who are reading this today.  Those who are dealing with smaller issues and those who have bigger complexities to face.  Those who need to be saved by You and those who need provisions from You.  I pray each one of us will humble ourselves and declare that we need You.  It doesn't mean we are weak.  It means we know and go to the One who has ultimate strength to carry us and our burdens.  Amen.