Independence

For all our friends, prayer warriors, and “fellow Americans,” we stand with you this week and celebrate Independence Day, and the beginning of the great experiment of a democratic republic that has brought so much good to the world. We are proud to be from the U.S.A. We celebrate in our hearts, and we thank God that we were blessed to be born in the land of the free, and the home of the brave. Thank you to all our military service men and women.

Dependence

While nations may do better when they can chart their own course, free from tyrants and unjust taxation, people were never made to be independent. God has called us to be dependent on Him. We are to seek Him, cast our cares upon Him, rely on Him, and walk with Him. He has invited us into a personal relationship in which He bears the heavy load and extends to us His protection and love. It is a beautiful thing that we often forget.

Since we started The Brook Ministries ten years ago, we have had to learn what that dependence means. Relying on God to move the hearts of men and women to help us in our work can be unnerving—especially for a “control specialist” (I resist the term “control freak”) like myself. I’d much prefer to be in control and “independent.” But what a beautiful thing that happens in the soul when we surrender and accept that He knows best just what we need. Some days He teaches us how to live in want, and others He guides us in living with plenty.

Throughout history, beginning in the book of Acts, we have seen the Church (the people, not the buildings) respond to God’s leading to provide assistance to one another in times of need.