It happened in 2001 when terrorists destroyed our sense of peace by attacking the World Trade Center. It happened seven years ago in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It's happening now in New York, New Jersey and the surrounding areas in the aftermath of the perfect storm known as Hurricane Sandy … the praises of the resiliency of the American human spirit. Courageous stories of heroism and strangers coming together dominate every news channel. On every side, we hear “We rebuild … stronger and better.”
However, we have left out the only One who is the sustainer of the human spirit … God. We have not given Him credit for anything; all we want to do is blame Him. We have not said, “With God's help, we will persevere”; or “If God be willing, we will rebuild.”  No, we have taken the burden of recovery upon ourselves - mere mortals. We like to believe in our supremacy; that we need no divine assistance in any way. We boast of rebuilding and enduring when it is only by God's grace we have our next breath.
Jesus spoke of this arrogance of the human spirit in Luke 12:16-21. “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you.”
We do not know what tomorrow holds, yet we obstinately refuse to admit our human frailty. We want to be independent of all bonds … including God. We don't want to have to depend on Him; we arrogantly believe we are invincible and able to recover from anything. Yet, while we remain ignorant of the happenings of tomorrow, God is already there, providing a way for His children. To trust in Him is to acknowledge that only He can provide the Spirit we need for this life; not the “human spirit,” but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, we are merely skin and bones, scrambling about this life with no direction, lying to ourselves that it is us and us alone who determines our fate. This is not only foolish, arrogant thinking, it is what Satan wants us to believe.
“You who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16).
It is time to stop boasting of our resilient human spirit and put our trust in the solidness of Jesus Christ.