The Dependent Life

"I just get tired of Him taking me to that place where I have to depend on Him.  I get it already!"
That was the quote of an old friend who has struggled with many hurts, habits and hangups over the last 25+ years.
What he was referring to was his latest battle against depression and addiction.  Clean now for over 4 months after nearly 3 decades of addiction, he still battles depression, severe health issues, and longterm relational damage.  He credits God with rescuing him from himself on numerous occasions and His divine intervention when he "slipped" off the wagon and tried to acquire some "pharmaceutical" relief.  He gives all glory to God for his very existence as he acknowledges that he should have died many times over.  But he still has this nagging feeling that God could accomplish all this without dragging him through the pit of despair to demonstrate his utter and total dependence on Him.
The problem is that we all live an a "Matrix" of our own creation.  Our view of reality is so warped by our own selfish interests and self absorption.  We all cling to an illusion of control.  The reality is that we control nothing.  We are the slightest wisp of vapor that appears for just a moment and then vanishes completely.  We are completely dependent on the God of all creation Who holds everything together by the force of His own will (no it is not the midi-chlorians).  It is not a matter of taking the red pill and waking up to truth and reality or the blue pill and remaining in illusion.  It is simply acknowledging that we are not in control and submitting to the One who is.
The truth is that we are all desperately dependent on God, we just don't want to give up control.  Every now and then, we encounter a situation that demonstrates that we really don't control anything and we are forced to fall back on Deity in whatever form we choose, but as soon as we find stability we immediately rewrite history and tell everyone how we survived by our skill, endurance, intelligence, social connections or just plain good luck.
Truth ... Freedom ... Reality ... these are all found in recognizing our dependence.
Maybe we would avoid some of the pits of despair if we lived in our dependence rather than pretending to be in control.