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Why we pretend to need God much less than we actually do
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It takes a dose of humility and maturity to understand that we really do need God in our lives. - photo by Megan Gladwell
Its easy to shrug off what other people consider divine. We assume that God is unrelated to the everyday things that happen to us. We feel like weve got things figured out, life is what it is, and we dont really need God. So we diminish the importance of building a relationship with him because of some of these reasons:

We think religion is for weirdos

In todays world, some of us assume that religious people are mostly fanatical or needy. We might brush off God and religion, acting like were above such things. Were like young children insisting, I can do it by myself! Its not until we are humble or mature enough to realize we cant do it alone that we acknowledge our need for God.

We attribute our success to our own hard work and talents

When were successful, we pat ourselves on the back and claim all the credit. We work our tails off through school or work and finally reach that level of success weve strived for. We simply assume weve done it all on our own.

But all those people and things that helped along the way (parents or other mentors, health and perseverence, financial means) are actually blessings from above.

We forget he sees the big picture

Our perspective is much more limited than Gods. A friend put it this way: When you work a dot-to-dot, an image immediately comes to view. The dots are perfectly placed to form a picture. But sometimes life is a mess of dots. Trials pop up that dont seem to make sense. Once we find God, trust him and overcome our trials, though, we see that those dots have created a beautiful picture.

When those messy dots pop up, faith helps us trust Gods plan for us. We can pray for peace, strength, guidance and better days ahead. The apostle Paul said, Let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (KJV Philippians 4:6-7)

We dont recognize what he does for us

Former NFL player Tim Tebow is a well-known example of openly acknowledging and praising God. Following his touchdowns on the football field, Tebow would drop on one knee in prayer. Tebow wasnt shy about recognizing the hand of God in his life and publicly showing his gratitude. Many of us take for granted our blessings and forget that God does so much for us.

Why is it so important to make room for God in our lives? We need to love God; the first and greatest commandment is to love him with all our hearts. And actually, loving him is in our best interest.