Encouragement from Steve Douglass (President of CCC)

This is a great reminder of what we need to be about!

In John 15:5 we find Jesus saying: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (English Standard Version).
Nothing! That is the extent of the significance of what we do apart from Jesus.
The corollary to this is illustrated in Philippians 4:13 where Paul says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
So there is our choice: Nothing or everything. And it hinges on whether we depend on God. You might be thinking “I know that, and I teach it to my disciples.” Good, but the question is, “Do you (and I) practice it?” Are we completely dependent on God in our thoughts and actions?
In December the Global Leadership Team and the Directors of Affairs met together. We were considering what we most needed to change if we wanted to pursue God’s calling effectively. Five areas of “culture change” were already proposed and were being planned in more detail. But one subgroup was appointed to consider what else needed more emphasis – in addition to the five. This group prayed and discussed and they came back to the main meeting with “more passion for and dependence on God.”
They concluded that, although there are many excellent qualities of Campus Crusade there is one thing we cannot afford to lack: Wholehearted trust in God.
There were right. We dare not be just OK in that. We need to be outstanding.
Again, we know that. We have a great deal of ministry content related to that. So what needs to change for each of us?
Let me tell from my own experience where the danger lies. I have been in full-time service of our Lord for 40 years. I have seen the ministry face very significant challenges and seen God deliver us from some of them. I have experienced the deaths of both of my parents and had God provide supernatural peace in spite of that. I have personally had to give leadership during a number of crises and seen God provide solutions miraculously. But as wonderful as that is, those very experiences plant the seeds of self-reliance. I can feel like I know what I am doing now. Very subtly I can begin to depend on my experiences more and on God less.
That can happen to all of us in the Christian life in general. When we begin to master some of the basic disciplines of the faith, like prayer and Bible Study, we can start believing more in our knowledge, experience and training and less in God.
So what can we do about that? We can start by admitting it. If it is true of us, we have to see it before we can address it. Second, like with any sin, we need to repent of it. Personally, I am horrified when I sense signs of self-reliance. I quickly ask God’s forgiveness for my foolishness. How could I overlook or deny His gracious action and provision in the past?
Third, we can ask Him for fresh ways to depend on Him:
• How to be sure we are filled with the Holy Spirit continually.• How to pray about everything.• How to exercise faith in practical ways.
My prayer is that our lives will be characterized by the supernatural presence of God. I certainly see evidence of that in many stories that come to me every month. But, I also know how easy it is to stop depending on God with our whole heart.
So my exhortation is let’s learn to trust God together even more. We can do nothing apart from Christ.
For you thoughts and prayers during some future devotional time:
1. Are there sometimes when you have found yourself moving toward reliance on yourself versus on God?
2. When you notice that, have you found you can see it as sin and repent of it?
3. See if you can think of some fresh ways you can depend on God more continuously.