Help!
“My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:2
Help: verb (used with object): to give or provide what is necessary to accomplish a task or satisfy a need; contribute strength or means to; render assistance to; cooperate effectively with; aid; assist*
I had just boarded my connecting flight in Chicago; I was flying to Europe, and was quite excited for my upcoming holiday. I was grateful to be seated by the window on the left side of the plane, where there were only two seats on the side, rather than being in a middle seat in the middle section. I wound up seated next to a lovely, grandfatherly English gentleman. We got acquainted as we settled in for the long flight, before turning to books and in-flight entertainment. Each seat had its own screen for viewing movies, and the screens had controls for adjusting the brightness and such. I had made my selection, and my movie was just starting when my seatmate said, “Oh, that won’t do at all!” and started adjusting my controls. When it was to his liking, I could barely make out what was on the screen! He got engrossed in his own movie, and I surreptitiously changed my controls. Once in a while he would look over and say, “It’s messed up again!” and then “help” me by adjusting the controls again. You see, they were flat screens. What looked good straight-on looked dim when viewed from the side. My new friend really thought he was helping me, and he was so sweet I didn’t have the heart to tell him otherwise!
This got me wondering: Is this how it is for God when I try to help Him? How many times have I come to His defense, only to do damage to the person I was defending Him against? And then there are the times in ministry when I’ve interfered with another’s help, jumping in to do it myself, because I can do it faster, better, etc…. It will be more helpful to God, right? I’m a helper by nature, but I have to cringe when I look back at all of my blunders.
The thing is, why do I think God needs my help? I did a word search for help in Scripture. God is our Help; we are to help others, but I couldn’t find a single reference of any time where God is asking us mere mortals for help.
And then it dawned on me. God wants my obedience, not my help. Perhaps this seems so simple to you, but as for me, I need His help!
Father, thank You for Your patience with me. Forgive me for the times I’ve hurt others under the guise of thinking I was helping You. Thank You for being my Help in times of trouble. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
♥️