Session 5

What are you building your life on?

From Genesis: A 7-Week Devotional

One more promotion, and then I can work fewer hours.

The payments will be a stretch, but it’s the exact car I’ve been wanting. 

It seems we work hard each day building our career, education, wealth, position, power, possessions, and relationships. But, are we building the right things and for the right reasons?

It had only been a few generations since the great flood, yet in Genesis 11 humanity’s self-sufficiency and independence from God ran deep. They had forgotten the death and destruction that came from living apart from God. And, they had forgotten how God had rescued them. They were confident in their own abilities and wanted to display their greatness through an architectural wonder, a testament to their own genius.

The decision to build the great tower was not necessarily wrong, but their motives were the issue: “Come let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves…” (Genesis 11:4). God created us to glorify Him, not ourselves. So, seeing the danger in this type of thinking and action, God chose to intervene, confusing their language and dispersing them throughout the world.

God loves you and knows your life is incomplete without Him. He designed you to rely on Him and not your own abilities and efforts. Are you attempting to build a name for yourself separate from God? Instead, choose to build a relationship with Christ. Build a tower of reliance on God and not on yourself. Use your time and talents to glorify God, rely on Him, and share His grace with others.

Jesus promises a life built on a relationship with Him will be an abundant one (John 10:10).

Reflect:

• Are you putting confidence in your own abilities instead of relying on God?
• What is one area of your life you need to turn over to God this week?
• What can you do today to practice relying on God instead of yourself?