Dependent Yet Free

Why true independence is only found in God

Beloved Friend,

Have you noticed how fragile life feels when we try to do it without Him? Miss prayer for just a short while and suddenly your dream life feels polluted, little lies roll off your lips almost unchecked, cravings for old habits begin to creep back in, and your hunger for spiritual things feels dull. There’s a void nothing else can fill. On the other hand, when you lean in, when you intentionally build intimacy with Him, the difference is undeniable. Joy flows more freely, and His touch becomes evident in every corner of your life.

It’s funny how growing up we longed for independence. We thought the true test of maturity was being able to handle life on our own. Yet in God, independence has a new meaning. The irony is that in depending on Him, you are most truly free. It’s also funny how when we finally tasted that independence, when adulthood came at us like a flood, with bills piling and responsibilities weighing heavier than we imagined, we suddenly began to crave and miss that dependency we once had. That same craving points us back to the kind of freedom only His presence gives. His presence frees you from the endless expectations of people, because you’re anchored to His. It frees you from sin and addictions, not because you mastered them, but because He carries what you cannot.

Here’s the truth: there is no middle ground. If you are not filling yourself with Him, something else will rush in to fill the gap. To cure an addiction, you must be hooked on something greater. To fight worry, you must be addicted to meditation on His Word. The same mind that spends sleepless nights replaying bills, or what ifs can become a garden of peace if it’s occupied with His promises. The energy you use worrying could be the very energy that builds your faith. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 6, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” Instead, He invites us to shift that same focus onto His Kingdom, where every need is supplied.

Think of Joseph. He wasn’t free because prison doors opened immediately but because God’s presence anchored him even in chains. Think of David. He refused Saul’s armor and instead leaned on the God he was dependent on as a shepherd boy. Think of the three Hebrew boys. They didn’t walk out of the furnace by clever strategy but because Another walked with them.

Beloved, God has invested so much in you and He continues to invest daily. That investment is not a call to prove to Him how strong or self-sufficient you are, but an invitation to stay close and dependent. Your true independence is in Him. Dependence on God is not weakness. It is freedom from sin’s grip and freedom from the loneliness of living apart from your Creator.

When you live like this, you’ll see that everything you longed for in “doing life on your own” is only found in Him.

With thoughts of kindness,

ABBA’s Shofar