Thank You

 

...for without Me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

The other day I was driving home with two of my siblings when my van began to lurch and chug. This is not the first time I've had this happen so I knew what was coming next. It was going to die. Since I didn't want it to die on the interstate I took the first exit but unfortunately had to stop at a read light. It died in the turn lane, where I quickly got it restarted and turned onto a back street that led to a parking lot where it again died. After limping it to the shade of a tree I called my dad. 

We hoped that maybe we could limp it home, but after he drove it a short distance he knew this was not going to be possible. He parked it in an out of the way place and called a tow truck. He would sit and wait, possibly hours, (you know if you've ever waited for a tow truck before!) while I would take my siblings and myself home in his vehicle. 

I felt badly that he had to sit with my van and wait for the tow truck but as much as I wanted to say "I'm sorry" the Lord wouldn't let me. Saying sorry implies that there's something I could or should be doing but I'm just not willing to do myself. This was not the case. It would not be safe for me as a woman to wait there alone in that desolate place. I needed him to do this and he was the only one who could do it.

I couldn't wait for the tow truck, I can't afford a mechanic or to buy a new vehicle, so I need my dad to do these things for me and he's the only one who can. I wanted to say "I'm sorry" because I didn't want him to be stuck with my problems, but instead I said "Thank you."

This experience got me to thinking about Christ. Is my relationship with Him an "I'm sorry" relationship or a "thank you" relationship? 

This isn't to say we shouldn't repent of sin, it's the "I'm sorry" of guilt. It's the "I'm sorry" I'll get better and not bother You so much, I'll learn how to be more independent, I'll figure this out and You won't need to expend so much forgiveness on me...

That's backwards! It was an uncomfortably weak and helpless position to be in the other day, but how wonderful that in the need I could not meet for myself, there was one who could meet it. 

I need Christ to do for me what I am not able to do for myself. And it's not just for a little while until I get things figured out, its for always. What I "figure out" is that without Him I can do nothing. What I "get better" at is dependance. Every weak and helpless situation I encounter is another opportunity to practice and embrace (despite the create discomfort!) dependance. It's a another chance to say "thank you." Thank you for being my provider, my peace, my hope, my forgiveness, my strength, my wisdom, my friend, my Father... 

My dad didn't need an "I'm sorry". He loves me, and even if my problems are a bit inconvenient, he does not regret his role of being a dad. The Father loves me and knew from the start (even if I didn't!) that I would need Him all the time for everything and He doesn't regret saving me and calling me His own. And the same is true for you. The Father loves you and does not regret the day He saved you and called you His own. So, will you respond with "I'm sorry"? Or "thank you." 

Dear Father, may You empower us to embrace dependance and the humility it takes to accept the fact that we need You. Thank you! That You already know or neediness and have provided Yourself to us to meet all of our needs. Please renew our minds and shift our perspectives to see that You're not waiting for us to become less needy and more independent, but to realize that You are the answer that resolves the question of our existence. We ask these things in the powerful name that You have granted us the liberty to use! Jesus Christ, amen.