Stop Helping God

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2

Happy Easter Beloved. Jesus Christ is risen indeed. Hallelujah!!!

Today we will consider a popular phrase that most people with shallow knowledge of the word of God recite and claim that it is written in the Bible, ‘Heaven helps those who help themselves’. This is one phrase that has led many astray. The topic for this write up came to me on a particular Tuesday evening during our prayer meeting in church. I wrote it down and continued with my life until today when the Lord reminded me again that I should tell His people to ‘stop helping Him’.

What does it mean to help? Oxford dictionary defines it as the action of helping someone to do something; assistance. To help simply means to assist someone to achieve or do something.

Christians (including myself in times past) have helped and are still helping God with the promises He made to us. My question to you is this? What has come out of it? I will bring this home more because I have heard and listened to teachings on the Perfect vs Permissive Will of God. For me and from my study of the Bible, there is no permissive will of God. God’s will for us is perfect. What we refer to as permissive will is the result of our disobedience to God’s will for us. Remember that God still loves us even in our sinful state. He hates sin but loves His creation. So when we disobey Him, He allows us to have our way and to enjoy the result of our actions (unless we repent). Let us look at some examples of how we try to help God:

• Choice of Marriage Partner: Dear mature single sister and brother, when you prayed and God gave you clearance on who He has for you as your partner (am talking more to the sisters here) but the person is not forthcoming, do you help God by going ahead with the one that is available, ready and even has better prospects than the one you got revelation about? Before you start your sermon on- God does not have a specific person for anyone, go study the bible and tell me if God asked anyone in the bible to specifically marry someone. A lot of people have out of impatience made this mistake and are either out of such marriages or going through so much pain that they wish they had waited a bit more. Likewise, some have clarity on this and feel that since God has spoken and they know the person, they can hasten the time by playing love with the person. This backfires as well and if care is not taken, you may actually drive the person to a wrong partner. Beloved, if you fall in this category, please study the word PATIENCE and ask the Holy Spirit to grant you the grace to wait until God’s perfect time. The bible reminds us in Proverbs 10:22 that ‘The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.’

• Childbirth: Delay in child bearing has led a lot of people to help God through various means against the will of God. Just like the case of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis chapters 15 to 21, where God promised Abraham a Covenant Heir but years passed and it was not forth coming so Sarah decided to help God by giving her maid Hagar to him. Abraham and Sarah helped God and the world is still paying the price for that singular act till date. Like Sarah, some people due to years of waiting have gone ahead despite God’s promise to them to help Him in some ways and have been blessed with children. Beloved, if God has promised you that you will bear your own children, hold unto that promise and prayerfully wait it out. I know it is not easy and can be frustrating as family, friends, in-laws and all may mock you but hold on, when your Isaac comes, their own children will serve him. God is never late.

• Career decisions/business: I have personally experienced the difference between a job approved by God and one not approved. The best job I have had so far was the one that God gave me three confirmations to take it. I enjoyed seamless growth in that company with lots of promotions. However, the one I took up when God clearly did not give me any confirmation, I experienced the worst struggles in my working career. Did I have any form of growth there? Yes, but the stress outweighed the success in it. When God is not in the business with you, you struggle because like someone wrote, when we do it by out strength, it is called a race but when God steps in, it works by Grace. Like me, did you take a job out of desperation? Or the need to provide for yourself and your family even when God said no? have you ventured into any business against the approval of God? Remember Proverbs 3:5-6 says, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths’.

• Ministry/Leadership Positions: There is a common joke among ministers that say, did God call you or did you call yourself? As funny as this sounds, some ministers actually called themselves into the ministry. The evidence is there. Some got into leadership position without God’s approval. The bible said, in Proverbs 29:2, ‘when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man is in rule, the people groan’. It doesn’t matter if you are a tongue talking believer, if you disobey God and take leadership, you qualify as a wicked ruler and all that comes from it is pain to the people.

Beloved, there are so many examples that we can talk about today but the essence is not to point it out but to let us realize that as long as we keep helping God, we short change ourselves and humanity. God has a perfect will for us and the bible tells us in Jeremiah 29:11, ‘for I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope’.

How can we stop helping God?

• By studying the word of God and prayerfully discovering His will for every situation of our lives. Psalm 119:105
• Through genuine fasting and prayer. Acts 13:2
• Through the help of the Holy Spirit. He guides us into all Truth. John 16:13

We must not be distracted anymore and must pray out the will and promise of God with perseverance as we are enjoined in Hebrews 10:36, ‘For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise’.

In summary, I encourage you to look at your life and find out those areas that you have gone against the perfect will of God or have helped Him to bring forth what He promised you in your own way and understanding. There are outcomes that cannot be changed like the case of Ishmael in the bible. All you need is to ask God for forgiveness and commit to trusting and waiting on Him for His promise. Exchange worry with praises, bible study, meditation on the word of God and prayers. Your Isaac will come. Whatever you are trusting God for will surely come if you tarry in FAITH.

I leave you with this prayer in Hebrews 13:20-21, ‘Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, ²¹ make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Always remember, Jesus Christ loves you and I.

Special appeal: Beloved, today is the day we commemorate the victory Jesus Christ won for us by rising from the dead and defeating Satan. The best gift you can give to Him in appreciation is to endeavour that you are in good standing with Him. For anytime you sin, you declare that His sacrifice was in vain and meaningless to you. If you have not given your life to Jesus Christ, please bow your head and say this prayer, ‘Lord Jesus, I come in total humility and ask that You forgive me all my sins. I acknowledge that You died to save me from the power of sin and death. I accept you as my Lord and Saviour. I pray that You release the Holy Spirit of promise to guide me into all truth to enable me live a life pleasing to You every day of my life. All these I pray in Jesus Christ name, amen’.

Congratulations for your name has been transferred to the book of life. God bless you. If you need further help with your walk with God, do contact us with this email JesusShopperteam@gmail.com