Have you ever tried to do something a second time and in the middle of the process you forget how you did it the first time? I have done this so many times it is embarrassing to think about. I am not mechanically inclined, so every time I take on a handyman project I find that I have forgotten how to do it. What is even more embarrassing is that I forget that I needed someone else’s help to do it.
We are like that with God. He faithfully takes us through one problem after another. Then when we face a problem the second time, we have a false self-confidence that we can handle it. We have forgotten the course God took us in the first place. More importantly we forget how much we needed God’s help the first time.
In speaking to a rich young ruler who was full of self-confidence, Jesus said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Whenever we have everything that we want or think we need, we are in danger. Because it is during those times that we forget about God and how much we need Him. Nothing ever becomes so routine or mundane that we can forget that we need God’s help, grace, and power.
Reluctant Retiree 