Many of us are like the prodigal son . We are out there struggling and being beaten down by the heat and severity of the ' famine ' of the world not knowing that we are not wired for such kind of life . We were not created to be independent , but to be dependent on God . This is the order of God and it cannot be reversed . Reversing it means signing for trouble . Once we wander and move out of God ' s presence , trouble kicks in and we begin to experience every form of famine in our lives .
The issue of independence is as old as the beginning itself and its closely linked to the sin of self . Anytime we want to have it all , do things the way we want , refuse to submit to any authority and live without being accountable to anyone , it becomes selfishness . It means that we put ourselves first because we want to be at the centre and when this happens we become ' gods '. This is the sin that the Devil taught mankind . Man did not consider God at the time of sinning in the Garden of Eden . He thought of himself and the benefits that would come with eating the forbidden fruit . He put himself at the centre and pushed God back . This was a selfish desire and it brought great consequences to humanity and the world at large .
God ' s presence is very critical in our lives – it makes all the difference . The moment we disconnect ourselves from Him , everything in our lives falls apart . God is everything and all we can ever ask for . He is all we need . God ' s presence is to humanity and it becomes a disaster when a man decides to live independently . The moment we lose it , we become exposed . It ' s like a fish ; you expose a fish and put it at the risk of dying the moment you remove it out of water . Fish cannot survive without water no matter what happens , and to us , we risk ' death ' in all its forms when we get out of God ' s presence . Having the reality of the presence of God is not dependent on us being in a particular circumstance or place , but on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually . It means putting Him in the first place , the place where He belongs .
Do not let yourselves be led away from the Lord to worship and serve other gods . If you do , the Lord will become angry with you . He will hold back the rain , and your ground will become too dry for crops to grow . Then you will soon die there , even though it is a good land that he is giving you ~ Deuteronomy 11:16-17 .
Disobeying God leads us to a dry spell in many areas of our lives .
So then , obey the commands that I have given you today ; love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart . If you do , he will send rain on your land when it is needed , in the autumn and in the spring , so that there will be corn , wine , and olive oil for you , and grass for your livestock . You will have all the food you want ~ Deuteronomy 11:13-15 .
35