The very air we breathe in our culture is designed to cultivate self-reliance, often pushing aside any concept of God being an active part of life’s equation. From a young age, we diligently teach our children the merits of education, hard work, and reaping the benefits of their own efforts. While these pursuits are neither wrong nor inherently bad, this relentless focus inevitably shifts us toward self-reliance rather than God-reliance. Consequently, when we are told to trust a God we cannot see, we struggle to make that vital connection.

The Biblical writers, in contrast, held both tensions in a healthy balance. They certainly recognized the merit of hard work, but they primarily understood that God is the Creator and the source of all success. Therefore, they knew that true flourishing required understanding His ways and trusting Him above our own capabilities. This is precisely why we are repeatedly encouraged to trust the Lord fully, and to intentionally choose not to lean on human understanding alone, but instead on the God who knows all things.