Walking in His Light/ subject: self-reliance

Scripture: Isaiah 50:10,11 Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You shall lie down in torment.

Observation: In this passage, God tells the person who fears the Lord and obeys the word of His servant to trust in the name of the Lord and rely on Him whenever they feel like they are walking in darkness with no light to guide their way. In other words, when we are confused about which direction to take in life, seek God and trust Him. The next verse has a severe warning for all who, when facing indecision and "darkness", choose to provide their own light. "But now, all of you who light your fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires... This is what you will receive from my hand: You shall lie down in torment." Ouch! That's extreme!

Application: Apparently God doesn't think much of our American cultural value of "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps". We hail those who become successful by their own cleverness and ambition as heroes. Since, as believers, we are products of our culture, I think we often approach our spiritual life with God from this American "self-reliant" paradigm. We do what we can for God on our own, and then, if we get stuck, we ask for His help. Or worse yet, we simply ask Him to bless what we've already decided is best to do and expect that He'll be proud of us in the same way we are proud of and inspired by those who've "made it" by their own giftedness and determination. Where our cultural paradigm clashes with God's, it's we who must change our thinking to align with His. He wants us to have humble hearts and to seek Him FIRST --- before we make our plans. He's most pleased when we continue to seek Him for light instead of walking in our own.

Prayer: Father, help us to learn to seek You when we're in the darkness. You are not embarrassed by us being in darkness because there is no darkness in You. It is so contrary to our nature to come and ask for help first before trying to work it out ourselves. Show us Your ways O Lord, that we may walk in Your light and have Your blessing on all we do.