If you’ve ever helped a child learn to ride a two-wheeler you know just how quickly they go from being terrified that you will let them fall to utterly intolerant of your help or your worried presence beside them as they seek to wheel away.  It’s the way we are.  When we are afraid and insecure we cling to help, but as soon as we gain a little self-confidence we want to do it all on our own.

That’s a very natural healthy transition for children to make, and they will continue to make those transitions from dependence to independence until they find themselves running along behind their own child wobbling along on a two-wheeler.

It’s often a challenge to balance our need to stand up on our own two feet and our need to rely on God for our ultimate strength and sustenance.  “God helps those who help themselves,” is not a verse from the Bible, but it’s not wrong either.  And yet, we can overestimate our competence and resist the help that God has to offer.

Paul was very proud of his Roman citizenship.  Not everyone had this status in the Roman empire; very few Jews like Paul could lay claim to the honor and privilege of citizenship.  When he was accused by Jewish rivals he claimed the privilege of his citizenship and asked to appeal his case before the Emperor.

After his preliminary hearing King Agrippa said to the local governor Festus:  “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to the Emperor.”  (Acts 26:32)

If Paul had just trusted God instead of relying on his status as a citizen, he would have been a free man.  Instead, he found himself bound in chains on a ship to Rome where he got his hearing before the Emperor.  The Emperor sentenced him to death.

Prayer:Lord, you have endowed us with intelligence and strength, with wisdom and experience. We thank you for all our skills and abilities.  Please deliver us from our tendency to rely only on our own strengths.  Grant us the humility and trust to rely on you even as we make our best efforts.  Amen.