Suppose you need a little motivation. You want a deeper faith, stronger witness. 

Here’s the Top 3 Take from this week’s episode. 

01. what dependence needs to survive

Dependence defines itself by what it needs to survive. This should be God. 

02. God is the strength of your heart

Holy Spirit reshapes our character through God’s divine persuasion of the heart. God’s faithfulness indwelling in us. God is the strength of your heart.

03. The morning brings unfailing love

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.

Show me the way I should go for to you I entrust my life.” Psalm 143:8

Stay with us for the conversation. e209 

E209 The Rhythm of Dependence on God (Let the Morning Bring Me Word of Your Unfailing Love)

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We are commanded to engage in corporate fellowship. While we are not considering the power of engaging in church fellowship, not today, I want to mark a commitment to bringing inspiration and connections that arise within my local church fellowship to our Faith to Witness 99 platform. I am so grateful for my church. This church is a responsive witness, not unlike the first church. Here’s Luke’s narrative of the early church in New Testament times as described in Acts.

Acts 2:42-47

 

The Fellowship of the Believers

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

“All the believers were together and had everything in common.” The believers in the early church had “glad and sincere hearts.” Our fellowship community is full with this salvation joy, and it spills over into our community in beautiful ways. Why? Well, gratitude drives it and brings with it the divine wisdom that there are so many levels of lost when we “go finding.” I’m talking’ about sheep. There is much to do. I have added a permanent link in my show notes to this church for those of you who are seeking corporate fellowship, online and locally. 

I’m Kathryn Bise, your host. 

Recently our Creative Arts Pastor, TJ Wallace delivered a message about the apostle Paul’s thorn in the flesh. His insights about Paul’s thorn are digestible, high protein, and actionable grounded in this anchor verse: 

2 Corinthians 12:9 

 ‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ‘

Put this message on your playlist. It will bring you to the center of God’s goal for you. And it will make this episode 209 come to life for you. Here’s the YouTube link to the full message titled Strong Enough to Be Weak:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrDlkaW9s54

Thank you Pastor Wallace.

 

The Rhythms of Dependence

So, to provide a little context for today, I want to start with where Pastor Wallace left us in the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 4:16

 

16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

He prompted us with this pursuit: God’s grace is enough for God’s NO. Our goal in this life is dependence on God, that we pursue “rhythms of dependence.” 

Having spent my fair share of time in dance studios, “rhythm” is the actionable word here. I was not surprised our Pastor landed on this either. He leads our worship team. 

I haven’t been able to get this phrase out of my mind. I’ve tried. I’ve written about rhythm many times. But the truth is, spiritual growth never strikes in the same place twice, and I should deal with it again because it comes to me from a place of conviction. Rhythms of dependence. Not that we take up certain habits, and that those habits force us into submission, tame our wild ways into one monotonous beat. Personally, my mind rebels against counting out the, let’s say, top ten habits of a mature Christian. 

No, a “rhythm” connotes something more: a spiritual cadence, a paced pursuit, the divine beating of God’s own heart. I hear a symphony. What a powerful understanding of how life actually rises within us every morning. I believe we wake up striving for a vibe that takes our day forward in a productive way.

That we seek to hear the rhythms of dependence on God’s heart to take us through this life. It is not a spiritual addiction, it doesn’t draw from a dark dependency, but how about a spiritual release of ownership? That we commit to a rhythm of releasing our day to God as it unfolds. How about a symphony of spiritual releases?

 

Dependence Defines Itself by What It Needs to Survive

Here’s what I think. Dependence defines itself by what it needs to survive. This should be God. What we need should be God.

Tag this question for consideration: what does your life tell you about what you need to survive?

Dependence on God needs to be the first responder in our heart. 

We turn to the Psalms today.

Psalm 73:26

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever.

Holy Spirit will reshape our character through God’s divine persuasion of the heart. This is what faith is. God’s faithfulness indwelling in us. His faith fosters the fruit of the Spirit in us. Eternal fruit. This is where we get our confidence to approach God’s throne of grace. It is so powerful to visualize approaching his throne when we pray. Seeking his mercy to receive his grace.

 

Dependence on God Through David’s Lament

David lays out how we do this in Psalm 143.

Let’s listen to this psalm together. 

Psalm 143

A psalm of David.

1 Lord, hear my prayer,

    listen to my cry for mercy;

in your faithfulness and righteousness

    come to my relief.

2 Do not bring your servant into judgment,

    for no one living is righteous before you.

3 The enemy pursues me,

    he crushes me to the ground;

he makes me dwell in the darkness

    like those long dead.

4 So my spirit grows faint within me;

    my heart within me is dismayed.

5 I remember the days of long ago;

    I meditate on all your works

    and consider what your hands have done.

6 I spread out my hands to you;

    I thirst for you like a parched land.

7 Answer me quickly, Lord;

    my spirit fails.

Do not hide your face from me

    or I will be like those who go down to the pit.

8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,

    for I have put my trust in you.

Show me the way I should go,

    for to you I entrust my life.

9 Rescue me from my enemies, Lord,

    for I hide myself in you.

10 Teach me to do your will,

    for you are my God;

may your good Spirit

    lead me on level ground.

11 For your name’s sake, Lord, preserve my life;

    in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.

12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;

    destroy all my foes,

    for I am your servant.

When we bring the Spirit of Psalm 143 into our prayers, our affirmations of who the God we depend on is, we have a fighting chance of living by God’s grace through all the day’s syncopation. This is the rhythm of God’s grace. It is a rhythm like no other, a rhythm  others will hear that tells them where we draw our strength. David says in verse 8, “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go for to you I entrust my life.” 

Maybe this means we read Psalm 143 every morning for a while or find your own scripture passage to bring to the morning light of your day. This is the power of God’s word, to indwell us with confidence to come to his throne and let him define our dependence on him.

 

Top Three Takeaways

Dependence defines itself by what it needs to survive. This should be God. 

God is the strength of your heart.

Let the morning bring you word of God’s unfailing love.

God’s faith to your witness. Go find the one.