Growth in dependence
Martha Olawale
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.” John 15:5
The human definition of growth lines up with our sense of independence. A baby is deliberately weaned from its mother to teach them how to survive without the mother needing to feed it. The more a child grows, the less dependent they are on their parents. However, growth in walking with God is a flip of our understanding of what growing up means. Unlike the human child, the “God child's” growth is measured in dependence, not independence. The more we grow as children of God, the more dependent on Him we become.
Growing in our walk with God means we run to Him for things we otherwise would have managed independently. It means we lean on Him for everything instead of trying to figure things out alone. While the human child is expected to continue to grow away from the parent, for instance, attending school and eventually moving out of the parent's home, the Godchild grows in more proximity to God. As growing Christians, we don't venture out unless God follows; we don't step into anything unless God steps in with us, and we don't even respond to anything in life until the Holy Spirit prompts us to respond.
As I grow in my walk with God, I'm learning to acknowledge my need for Him for every little detail of my life. I'm learning that my weaknesses become strengths when I lean on Christ and that with the daily turmoil within, my emotions are subject only to the power of the cross. I'm beginning to understand that I'm created dependent, not on any man or my mortal abilities but on God. And I can only make it through every road I walk with His strength.
God does not train His children to face life alone. He does not teach us how to ride the bike by releasing His grip; He holds on to the handle and never lets us go. His promise is clear in Joshua 1:5. He told Joshua, "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Learning to become less self-reliant and more God-reliant is a show of strength and should be a daily aspiration for every Christian.
The more we grow with God, the more we depend on Him. The Holy Spirit trains us to be more aware of our Father's presence so we can live conscious of His ability to carry every weight for us. Our childlikeness with God is not a weakness but a reflection of our trust in Him. It means we understand that God is always able and capable, and nothing is beyond or above Him.
