An Independent Man? Not Quite!

On Tuesday February 10, I had a second spinal surgery/fusion. I was in the hospital until Friday afternoon. Thankfully, I’ve been getting stronger each day and better able to get around the house, albeit with a walker. The pain has been slowly subsiding. Right now the healing process seems slow, but I know I need to be patient and allow my body to heal properly that I might get back into the normal routines of my life. 

It's during times like these that I am reminded of just how dependent I am on those around me. When in the hospital I was totally dependent on the care of the nurses and aides. I needed all the help I could get to control the pain, get to the bathroom, and get in and out of bed. Once home, I’ve been dependent on my wife and daughter, son and son-in-law, to get a glass of water, prepare my meals, and help me with some of the basic tasks I would normally do myself. I’ve even been dependent on a walker to keep me steady and keep extra stress off my back as I move around.  

Like most people (from my perspective, I’d like to say, “most men”), however, I like feel as if I’m an independent person. I don’t like to have to rely on others for the basics of life.  I like to get for myself and do for myself.  Yet again, a time like this reminds me that, I’m not as independent as I might think I am. In fact, in the end none of us is as independent as we might think we are. We/I are all dependent in one way or another on the people around us, the things we have in hand, and the community in which we live. 

Most of all, a time like this reminds me of just how dependent I am on the grace of God to sustain me and take me from one day into the next. After all, he is not only my Creator and Savior, but he is as well my Sustainer. Thus, today I identify well with the words of the psalmist: 

“The LORD sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.” (Psalm 41:3 – NIV) and “Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.” (Psalm 54:4) 

I realize today that, I am not as independent as like to think I am. After all, I am not only in many ways dependent on those around me, but I am totally dependent on the sustaining work of God to help me through each day. And his sustaining power is what gives me the hope and strength I need to face the days that are ahead, whatever they may bring.   

I want to encourage you today to look to God as not only your Creator and Savior, but as well as your Sustainer. After all, you’re not as independent as you may think!

Have a great day! 

- Pastor Tim Harris