Jesus said “apart from me you can do nothing.” He didn’t say “apart from me you can do some things and for the rest… there’s prayer!” He said, “nothing.” Nothing! And if I may add to his words: We can’t do anything apart from other people either!
Think about your Thanksgiving cranberry sauce for a minute. From the sun and rain and farmer that grew the cranberries, to the harvester, to the trucks that carried them around the world, to an entire gas industry that powers those trucks, to the processing and canning plant, to your local supermarket, and every businessman who put their lives on the line to run those businesses. You probably relied on tens of thousands of people for that one side dish on your plate. You need God and you need other people. For everything.
And why do we need to remember that? Because we become arrogant when we forget it, but we become grateful, humble, and generous when we remember it. And that’s a recipe for joy.