On becoming less and less

God, the Master, The Holy of Israel,
has this solemn counsel:
"Your salvation requires you to turn back to me
and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves.
Your strength will come from settling down
in complete dependence on me—
The very thing
you've been unwilling to do.- Isaiah 30:15 (The Message)

Maybe you're like me and sometimes forget that we can't save ourselves. I try so hard to live right and do good and, while those are good things, they can't save me. Only by turning to God and relying totally and completely on Him can I be saved.

I work really hard to prove I'm better than others. I often want to tell my boss that I made this happen, or I carried someone else's water in some case, just to prove how strong I am. But, I read this verse, and I really do want my strength to come from settling down in complete dependence on God. This means I can't make myself strong by:
- Building a bigger bank account
- Learning more things
- Impressing more people
- Even serving more people

See, I work really hard to make myself appear like I'm more than I am. But, only when I make myself less can I allow Him to become more- and that is where I become strong.

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.- Psalm 121:1-2