Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
There are two words I want to focus on in this Scripture. The first one is "depend." I think of the opposite of this sometimes: "independent." If you think about it, independent means free-standing, free-thinking, not leaning on anything else. I've got this. In our world, being independent is praised. But this scripture says something different. It says that those who depend on Him—the Lord is good to that person. What does it mean to depend on God in a world that praises independence?
The Picture of a Chair
I think about sitting in a chair of all things. I know this chair is holding me up. But I want you to picture this, and maybe even try it at home when you have a second. Dependency requires trust. If I did not trust this chair, imagine what it would be like if I just hovered above it at a 90-degree angle, not leaning against anything. My legs would burn. I would start shaking. My whole body would give out very quickly, and whether I wanted to or not, I would fall into the chair—not willingly, but because my body gave out. Dependency says, I'm going to trust and depend on this chair to hold me up when I can't do it for myself. I think that's the picture God wants us to have with this word. He is good to those who depend on Him—who put their full weight on Him. There's another Scripture in 1 Peter that talks about how there is grace, and actually a revelation of Jesus, that comes when you lean entirely on Him, when you put your faith entirely on Him. There is blessing in dependence.
The Search
Now we look at the second word: "search." When I first read this Scripture and was thinking through how to talk about it, I thought about Sherlock Holmes—the super sleuth who took every clue he could get to solve a mystery. If you think about God—or at least try to—we will never scratch the surface of who He really is. We can get little bits and pieces, but there is a lot about Him that remains mystery. He says He is good to those who search for Him. Maybe we spend the rest of our lives looking and never feel like we've fully discovered, and we feel depleted because of that.
Here are a couple of Scriptures in the Bible that encourage us to keep looking when we feel that way. There's a proverb that says it's the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to search it out. There is glory on the other side of the search. In Jeremiah chapter 29, verse 13—I love this Scripture—it says, "If you seek Me with your whole heart, you will find Me." That's God speaking to His people. If you get weary in the search, or you wonder if you can actually trust putting your full weight on God—remember, He says He will be good to those who do those things. Ultimately, if you search for Him and look for Him with your whole heart, He promises you this: you will find Him.