God Doesn't Need You

I know the title of this post isn't the most uplifting, but for whatever reason, some of us have this idea that God actually needs us. As though He couldn't function without us. Like we are some special needs he has to have. Although we might be "special needs" it isn't the way we would like it. The special needs we bring to the table, involves a helmet and a short bus.

I find in my life, times where I secretly think that those around me are so lucky to have me and wonder how God could work in their lives if I wasn't around. Amazing how prideful and arrogant I can become when, in reality, God is the only reason that my next breath is taken.

Theologically, this isn't hard to prove. It becomes quite obvious we can't alter the future or the past with our efforts. Although Arminians are like Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future, thinking that if they just get a Delorean and a puffy vest, they could fix what God screwed up. The fact is, we can't, no matter how much Arminians take their theology from awesome 80's movies, God doesn't need us.

Theologically God tells us:

“Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand;
I act and who can reverse it?”
Isaiah 43:13

“For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”
Isaiah 14:27

“O Lord, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.
2 Chronicles 20:6

“Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him? Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’ Job 9:12


There are many other verses, but I hope you get the point. God can act whenever he wants, whether you are alive or dead, awake or asleep, Arminian or Marty McFly.

But why do we get this idea that God is in heaven looking down so proud of his super hero pastor or Christian that he has to rely on? I know most of us wouldn't admit to this out loud, but why do we practically get so high on ourselves?

I think for the most part it is because we are far from the cross and close to our self. Christ tells us that if we are to walk with him we must deny ourselves and take up our cross. If we are not cross centered in everything we do, we will find ourselves focusing on self instead. If we don't have the cross taken up in our arms, they will be filled with something else instead, which is idol worship. We will compare ourselves with others, making ourselves look like we are more sanctified because we use words like missional, propitiation and inerrant. Or we will find ourselves to be loved by God more because we have man crushes on Piper, Driscoll and CJ Mahaney.

What I find interesting is that although Isaiah was a man of God, used by God as his mouthpiece to a bunch of morons who loved worshiping golden heifers instead of Christ, he still fell to his face when he became cross centered in a mere second.

We don't know everything that Isaiah saw while in heaven in Isaiah 6, but we do know that He saw our King Jesus, and in that second he was forced to understand why the closer he drew to Christ the further his sin cast him onto his face. There was no time for Isaiah to think of himself as higher than the defunct family in Israel. There was no time for Isaiah to prove that he was better than those creating damnable legalistic sacrifices. He had no time, because Jesus was on his throne before his eyes. His salvation was before him and all Isaiah knew was that everything else was skubalon compared to seeing Jesus, our Lamb, our sacrifice, our cross bearer.

At this point, Isaiah understood that Jesus didn't need him, he needed Jesus.

The question must be asked, do I really believe that I still need Jesus, or do I practically believe that Jesus needs me? What am I carrying around in my life that isn't the cross? We must daily take up our cross and crucify our self, and live for Christ. Without a daily dying to self, we will be daily exalting self. The more we exalt self, the further away the cross of Christ is in our eyes and the more we will think that God needs us.

But in the end, know that no matter how much you think it, God doesn't need you, you need him.