Is God All I Need?

Samantha is a committed Christian. She spends time most days in prayer and study. A single parent working full time, she lives with her son and their cat. Samantha consciously seeks to accept her circumstances with contentment and gratitude. But one problem seems to haunt her — panic attacks, typically two to four times a week. In spite of her efforts to practice her faith in God, she struggles with the question, “Is God all I need?”

If God truly is all she needs, as some Christians have told her, Samantha wonders why she still suffers from panic attacks. On one hand she knows God is with her and is working everything out. But then a panic attack hits, and she is lost in a world of impending doom, rapid heart beats, sweating palms, and extreme concern that she and her son will die.

Is God all she needs, or is there something more Samantha needs to do to address this problem? When it comes to our personal growth, is there a part we need to play?

From a classic Christian perspective the answer is obvious: "God is absolutely all anyone needs!" But before we blurt out the answer and rush on to the judgment, let’s pause for another look. The answer may not be as simple and obvious as it first appears. In fact, maybe the answer really is “yes” and “no.”

This is a vitally important question for Christians searching for ways to live harmoniously with other flawed humans. Where is the line of my responsibility, and where is the line of what God will do? Where is my investment in my growth, and what about the truth that my efforts are futile? After all, the Bible tells us it is impossible for a leopard to change its spots (Jeremiah 13:23).

Personally, I wish the answer was “Yes” for several reasons. For starters, life would be a lot easier. Dealing with my emotions in response to a betrayal of some kind; facing the disappointment, the hurt, and the anger; going to a person that betrayed or offended me and working things out — these actions are difficult, painful, and just plain risky. (They often create more vulnerability: what if they do it again!) If I could just skip all the pain and go straight to “God, You do it!” wouldn’t that be great?

I wish God would take a line from Nike and "just do it!" But here I am stuck with the problem of having to invest in my own life, learning to think differently, taking every destructive thought captive and replacing them with new healthy, constructive ones. I mean, after all, where is God in that if I am doing the footwork? Where is dependence on God if I have to work my mental fingers to the bone to refocus my mind, do a writing exercise, identify my emotions, or go back and take responsibility for my mean behavior to another person? If I have to do it, where is God in that?

Yes, But ...

If it could all be worked out with God alone, would we still be in possession of one of God’s most valuable gifts — personal choice? I'm well aware of some of the harmful personal choices we humans sometimes make, such as:

• Alcohol
• Drugs
• Food
• Working excessively
• Trying to fix others
• Neglecting loved ones
• And even over-involvement in religion, ministry, and missionary work

Many of these poor choices are simply used as a strategy for dealing with the hurts, betrayals, and people problems. Quite frankly, folks, this is plain ole’ avoidance. It is turning away from the hard mental work that joins with God's Spirit to bring change in my life.

Learning relational skills and tools with which to move beyond our pain is, I believe, working within God’s plan.

God's Subtlety

God is not worried about getting the credit for the work He does. In fact, it’s almost as if there is a reason He wants you to get the credit for changes. Frequently, God works so subtly that we don’t recognize it as God working. For some reason, God often works through natural means, other people, and life situations. They often come as natural results of choices we make. Consider the following:

Farmers must invest their own sweat, time, and energy to the project. They prepare the soil to receive that they are going to plant, they select what they will plant very carefully based on the expected crop, they plant very carefully and deliberately, they fertilize, water, weed, they are careful to harvest at the right time in the right way to maximize the harvest. Is God all they need? Yes, without God it would not happen. AND if they hadn't joined with him, it would not have happened.

Bakers must purchase the ingredients necessary, grind the wheat, need the dough, shape it, put it into the oven at just the right temperature for the right amount of time, cool it, slice, it and put it out for sale. Is God all they need? Yes, without God it would not happen. AND if they hadn't joined with him, it would not have happened.

We buy the bread, prepare it, put it in our mouth, chew it, swallow it, and the automatic functions of digestion and distribution throughout the body take over to get energy and nutrition. Is God all I need? Yes, without God it would not happen. AND if I hadn't joined with him, it would not have happened.

It’s the same for our mental health, self-worth, healthy relationships, and spirituality. Is God all we need? Yes if we actively join with Him.

Conclusion

On one hand, I really want God to just do it, I am grateful that He is working in me to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Look at the wording. He is working in me to transform my will. And when my will is transformed, I am making different choices and doing different things. I don’t know how He does it and, frequently, even when, but I know He is not neglectful or slow at His work. It seems however, that I am often slow to use the transformed part of my will, and I am often slow to do His good pleasure.

But when I finally get it, then I am enabled to use the transformed part and I do His will — that is, I live as a positive influence in this world. And I get the greatest blessing. I actually enjoy life more, have more peace in my heart, more friends, enjoy the sunrises (notice them, for that matter!). And yes, I dig into the skills and tools for personal growth, and it is then that I discover that God uses my work to display the changes He’s been working on. In fact, it almost seems that He blends His Spirit into my work to bring about changes that I’ve been praying He would hurry up and get done.

Now return to Samantha. As she partnered with God and invested energy into learning and practicing some effective skills and tools at the right time, little by little she found a world of freedom in place of her former world of pain and debilitating fears.

Is God all I need? The answer is "yes! Absolutely yes!" as long as I am invested and actively participating. Without God it would not happen no matter how much work I do, no matter how hard, intelligently, or diligent I worked, it wouldn't happen! God is the key ingredient. But remember, key ingredients are not the only essential ingredients. The key ingredients activate all the other ingredients to bring about the desired outcome. My work is essential, God's work is key.