Chasing False Needs Versus Resting in RealitySample

In the Garden

“You can be like God.”

The first temptation offered to humans is the same one we’ve been falling for ever since. It’s difficult to notice God when we are trying to be like Him. The Accuser convinced us of a lie that placed us on an endless pursuit of something we were never meant to attain. God is God; we are human. Whenever we carry more than we were designed to carry, we’re filled with chronic anxiety.

And that anxiety can start small. When we don’t get what we believe we need to be okay, we can get reactive. Unchecked, that reactivity can rapidly expand and take over every nook and cranny of our soul, pushing out our awareness of God. When we’re trying to shoulder a God-sized task, our awareness of God is displaced by our own attempts at being superhuman.

If we pay even closer attention, we may notice something even more alarming: When we pick up a God-sized job, it’s because we believe that God isn’t up for the task or maybe that He doesn’t even care. Somewhere along the way, we decided God wasn’t enough and that in order to be okay, we needed to depend on ourselves.

That habit—of depending on ourselves instead of God—is self-righteousness. In the Bible, when a person is righteous, they are well—well with God, well with themselves, and well with others. We all want to be well, but when we rely on ourselves to achieve this, we are stuck in a perpetual cycle of striving, and we stop noticing God.

God, however, presents us with an extraordinary invitation. He invites us to relax into His presence, His righteousness, giving us permission to be exactly human-sized. We can become well by relying on Him for our righteousness rather than ourselves. What an amazing offer!

This doesn’t mean we can act carelessly. It doesn’t give us a pass to hurt others and then act as if we bear no responsibility. The truth is, when we are genuinely connected with the gospel, when our identity is firmly anchored in Christ rather than our false selves, we gain the ability to accept greater responsibility for our actions. We gain the freedom to stand before others and openly acknowledge and take ownership of our mistakes.

The first temptation birthed a desire in us to sit on the throne of our own lives, to take control. Yet, we were never meant to bear that responsibility. We’re not designed to be all-knowing or always perfect. It’s too much pressure. We simply can’t manage it. And when we fall short, which we will, that’s when we have the chance to truly rest in the gospel.

By allowing ourselves to embrace our humanity, which is all God ever expects from us, and rest in His perfect presence, we can experience profound peace and worship.

What are some signs that alert you to the times when you stopped noticing God?