We’re Dependent Like a Newborn Baby

Our family has grown by two in the past month—a granddaughter and a grandson born only nineteen days apart. I’m blessed to be temporarily living in the same household as my new grandbaby boy.

Josh is a week old. I marvel at the miracle he is. I also marvel at his complete dependency on others. Like all newborns, he can do absolutely nothing for himself. His mommy feeds, changes, bathes, and clothes him, and others happily pitch in to help.

Josh’s helpless state reminds me of humanity. Seriously, we can do nothing on our own. We are completely dependent on God. We can’t even take our next breath without His go-ahead. Why, then, do we think we can handle some of life’s issues without Him?

Helpless humanity

Robert Lowry nailed it when he wrote the refrain,

“I need Thee, oh I need thee; Ev’ry hour I need Thee; Oh, bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee.”

Every moment of every day we need God’s presence in our lives. And every moment of every day our heavenly Father hears our sighs and cries. He never withholds His help from us when we call on Him from a pure heart. (Psalm 66:16-20) Just as Josh’s family cares for him, so our heavenly Father cares for us. He encourages us to call on Him, and He never considers meeting our needs a hardship. (1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 23:1)

God cradles us

I cradle week-old Josh and thank God for this visual reminder of how He cradles you and me.

We don’t have to try to figure out life on our own. We don’t have to let fear control us. We don’t have to panic over whether or not our needs will be met. We’re completely and utterly dependent on God, and He loves us. There’s no better position in which to be.