What happens when we fail to depend on God?

Numbers 20:12The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”

Deuteronomy 9:23At Kadesh-barnea the Lord sent you out with this command: “Go up and take over the land I have given you.” But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to put your trust in him or obey him.

Isaiah 42:17“But those who trust in idols, who say, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned away in shame.”

Jeremiah 17:5-6This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.”

Hosea 10:13-14“But you have cultivated wickedness and harvested a thriving crop of sins. You have eaten the fruit of lies—trusting in your military might, believing that great armies could make your nation safe. Now the terrors of war will rise among your people. All your fortifications will fall.”

When we fail to depend on God, we begin to separate ourselves from him. We start to go our own way, which leads to neglecting his Word and his ways. This neglect leads to disobedience and sin, which God may choose to discipline us for in order to lead us back to himself. No one can experience God’s best when they depend on anyone or anything more than God.