Depending on God
Challenging Others to Depend on God
Challenging Others to Depend on God
This article utilizes examples from the Truth Centered Transformation Program of Reconciled World. We recommend reading The Story of TCT to familiarize yourself with the program.
While it’s important for us to be depending on God personally and as an organization (see previous page), it’s equally important to point those we work with to God. The great news is that when we step out of the way, they probably will find depending on God more natural than we do. Here are four disciplines that we can practice to help encourage their dependence on God:
- Don’t answer questions
It’s just that simple. When people come to you with questions, looking for wisdom about how to solve a problem, don’t give them an answer. Instead, ask them if they have prayed about it and what they believe God is saying.
It’s incredibly hard to do. For one thing, in most cultures, as the leader or the outsider, we are expected to have answers. If we don’t give an answer we disappoint those who are asking. And often we feel that we do know the answer. There seems no logical reason to hold back. However, if we consistently provide answers, those we work with end up becoming dependent on us. Next time they face a challenge they will be back looking for answers from us. Yet God’s answers are a whole lot better (and often completely different) than anything we would have thought of.
- Pray for wisdom—for them as well as for yourself
Praying for wisdom for ourselves comes pretty naturally, but how often do we pray that those we advise will have wisdom? Do we even want God to answer that prayer? After all, it’s nice to feel like I have something to contribute, and a little unnerving to discover that they already have the wisdom they need before I arrive. And yet should we not be like Paul who, in Ephesians 1:17, prayed that the churches would have wisdom? Make sure you take at least as much time praying for wisdom for those you work with as you spend praying for wisdom for yourself.
- Be wary about providing resources
Outside resources can actually weaken the local church and, far too often, cause fighting and division. But when we challenge people to look to God, they see Him multiply in remarkable ways. Even if there isn’t a miraculous provision, but the community learns to work together to find a new creative solution, they are left stronger.
This does not mean we do not need to be generous. However, we need to be wise about how we give and what we give to. We need to find ways to give that empower others to use what they have, pushing those we partner with to know the joy of giving, rather than just providing everything ourselves.
- Make space in your programs
As we design programs, it’s easy to make them so clear and full of next steps that we don’t leave space for participants to listen to God and walk in obedience to Him.
In the Truth Centered Transformation program, there are many examples of projects that make no sense from a human perspective—people with third-grade education designing bridges, starting a village-wide house building project with half the necessary supplies, hand-digging wells where government efforts had found arsenic. It would be tempting (and much cleaner) to have all the churches follow a set pattern of Acts of Love. Instead, churches are encouraged to ask God what He would have them do to show His love. As the churches listen and obey, God uses their efforts powerfully.
As we design programs, we need to ask ourselves: Is there space for the Christians we work with to listen to God and follow what they believe He is telling them? Or do our programs already have all the answers? If we work in community groups, how can we encourage them (or the Christians in them) to be listening to God rather than just brainstorming together on what the community might need?
These are just a few of the many ways that we can challenge our partners to depend on God. As we do, our experience has been that God is faithful to turn up in situations where believers are sincerely doing their best to seek and follow Him. And when He turns up, transformation follows.
