We can't do this alone. And that's OKAY.

"The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights" (NLT).

Have you ever felt really inadequate at this thing called life? Have you ever found yourself strung out and exhausted trying to figure out what you should do and how you should do it? Have you ever felt crippled by fatigue or overwhelmed by shame because the more you try to become independent the more you realize you're not?

That's OKAY. There is nothing wrong with you for feeling those things. Why? Because we were never meant to live as independent, self-reliant people in the first place.

So where do we find our strength? Other people? Of course not. Although community is a beautiful gift from God and can be useful for encouragement, and growth, and reminding each other of God's truth, no one is strong enough to carry the load we bear. After all, if we're not strong enough to handle our own burdens, why would we expect to be able to handle others'?

When I try my hardest to become independent and accomplish things by my own strength and I fail I find myself tunneling down into self-condemnation. I start to feel like a bad Christian. Because somewhere in the back of my head there's a voice that's been telling me: "If you were a stronger Christian, you could do this on your own. God wants you to be self-reliant, and you're failing Him."

I don't know why I believe that lie so easily... it's like it sneaks into my brain without me even noticing it.

But it IS a LIE. Because NO WHERE in the Bible does it say we're supposed to be self-reliant. And EVERYWHERE in the Bible it tells us to trust in God and rely on HIM alone.

HE is where our help comes from. HE is the one who enables us to stand on mountain heights. HE is the source of our wisdom and strength.

Somewhere along the line we start to think that if we're maturing in the faith then we shouldn't feel helpless as much. But on the contrary, as we deepen our relationship with God the more we realize how helpless we really are, and the more we learn how to depend on HIM alone.

Psalm 121:1-2, "I lift my eyes to the mountains--where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth" (NIV).

Psalm 146: 1-10 "Praise the LORD! Let all that I am praise the LORD. I will praise the LORD as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath. Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God.

He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are weighed down. The LORD loves the godly. The LORD protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. The LORD will reign forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations. Praise the LORD!" (NLT).