Can you stand on your own?

Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 2 Chr 24:2

Joash was only seven when he became king. His father was very wicked and was only king for a year. When his father died, his grandmother took the throne and killed all of his brothers. His sister hid him and saved him from his grandmother’s killing spree. When Joash was seven, Jehoiada the priest and some other leaders overthrew his grandmother, and established him as king. Joash was a great king as long as Jehoiada, his mentor, was alive. But when Jehoiada died, everything went downhill. Joash never developed far enough in his walk with God to be able to survive on his own spiritually. As a result, he threw away his life and his honor and now has gone down in history as one who started well but wasn’t able to finish.
It’s really sad, but I see A LOT of the same thing happening today. I know a lot of people who were fired up, but when they left for college and didn’t have the youth pastor around they went downhill quickly. I comfort myself with the idea that some of these kids will come to their senses later in life, and get plugged in and get back in fellowship with the Lord. Some won’t though. The problem is that many of these kids never learned to stand on their own.
During my teen years, after I was saved, I longed for a mentor who would challenge me and push me. I wanted a spiritual leader who I could look up to. Although I had people in my life that helped me greatly along the way, that mentor I desired never came. Sometimes I think it could have been a blessing in disgiuse because I learned to stand on my own. I learned to depend on the Lord emotionally. I learned to seek God on my own.  And now I depend wholly on God for help to overcome temptation, for help emotionally, for guidance, and for whatever else I may need.

I noticed that a lot of people are very dependent upon others.  This is dangerous. What happens if that person lets you down?  What happens if your youth pastor falls into sin?  What happens if your best friend goes the way of the world?  What happens if your someone important were to pass away?  What would you do?  If you were dependent on them, then you would fall apart.

Learn to be completely dependent upon the Lord.  Next time you have a problem, go to Him and don’t leave until you know it’s resolved.  If you learn to do this you will be able to stand on your own.