I’ll just go ahead and put it out there… be blunt… no beating around the bush…

God does not need you.

Yes, that is the bad news and the good news all in one whopper of a sentence!

Let me show you why this is true:

“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.”(Acts 17:24, 25)

Did you get that?

God isn’t served by human hands… as if He needed anything.

So, if you’re weak, good news, God doesn’t need your feeble human hands.

If you’re into working, striving, and serving God with all your effort and merit, bad news, God doesn’t need your very competent human hands.

An all-sufficient God can make a self-sufficient person feel pretty uncomfortable — down right unnessesary! I should know. I’ve been that self-sufficient woman.

For years, I tried to write my own spiritual success story.

I strived, worked, performed, and served. But, if I am really honest, I admit I did lots of that striving, working, and serving because, deep down, I really thought God needed me.

I know, I know… like His kingdom here on earth would come crashing down if little old me didn’t run herself ragged working, serving, and striving!

So, to read, “God is not served by human hands as if He needed anything” was a big blow to my self-imposed, self-sufficient spiritual stardom! But, it was also the best bad news ever because it freed me to see that…

God doesn’t need me, God wants me.

Jesus didn’t come so I would serve Him, but Jesus came to serve.

Yep, the God who is not served by human hands came to serve human hearts.

Jesus Himself said, “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

He didn’t come to recruit workers… He came to redeem sinners. And girl, I am a sinner who needs a Savior!

He didn’t come down here because He needed us, but because we needed Him.

Oh girl, the God who doesn’t need me is the God I need.

Now, I serve Him. I work because it is “God who works in me both to will and work for His good pleasure!” (Philippians 2:13)

I serve Him not out of a need to boost me, but out of a desire to bless Him. Serving God is what we do in response to what Jesus did for us. We serve Him because we love Him, not so He will love us.

He wants our God-dependent, Spirit-fueled service not our self-sufficient, me-fueled service. He wants our service because our service is a reflection of our hearts.

God is not served by human hands, but He is blessed by having our hearts.

Even if you feel like you’re dealing with mixed motives, give Him your whole heart and let Him straighten it out. Once He has your heart, He has all He desires. And, when God has His desires fulfilled, we are fulfilled. Our deepest desires are truly met as we meet His.

Thank You, God, for giving us “life and breath and all things.”(Acts 17:25)
Amen

Question: Are you self-sufficient, or God-dependent? What motivates your service to Him?