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When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Romans 5:6
None of us want to be helpless. Other words that define helplessness are incapable, vulnerable, defenseless, or weak (to name a few).
Which of those descriptive words would you like to be known for? Which of those words would you want on your epitaph? “Here lies ‘xxx’, He was incapable in life to accomplish anything.” Pretty sure that isn’t what any of us would hope for.
We live in a world that celebrates strength. We live in a world that applauds independence. We live in a world that pities the weak.
While the Bible speaks often of God’s love and power, it seems as though His power is most accessible when we are at our weakest.
It’s hard to think that way though, isn’t it? It’s in our weak times that the voices of negativity scream the loudest. It’s in our times of vulnerability that we may tend to withdraw into a shell of protection or act out in order to defend our integrity. It’s when we feel incapable that we tend to lean on a victim mentality (If they hadn’t done that to me, things would be different)
I wonder if God sees our times of helplessness as times of waiting? When we feel helpless the natural thing to do is look for help.
We really have three options, three sources to help us in those times of helplessness. Our first ‘go to’ us usually ourselves. Society tells us to ‘look within ourselves’, to ‘follow our heart’. But God warns us that the heart is deceitful above all things.
The second option is to look to others. I don’t think I need to tell you the dangers of that! People let us down. Even within the church there are those who are users and abusers, who use religion as a weapon to destroy.
The last option is one that is the best but also the hardest and that is God. Jesus’ disciples had seen him perform miracle after miracle, but when he was in the boat sleeping they feared for their lives. Yet, at just the right time, Jesus was there as to calm the storm.
God’s timing isn’t comfortable but it’s always best. God’s timing brings success, my timing, well, let’s just say it’s caused problems.
It’s when we are helpless that he shows himself best. When you feel totally helpless, spend time with the one who has the strength , wisdom and power to see you through the storm.
Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” John 6:8-9
How much is enough? A little boy once asked his father for a candy bar at the counter of a grocery store. Times were tough. The dad’s heart sank. Much as he’d love to give his son everything he wanted, the small amount of cash he had would barely pay for the families groceries. When he told the boy ‘not today’ the boy replied, “but daddy, it’s on sale. Appreciating the boy’s attempt at thriftiness, he replied, ‘Son, if it only costs a quarter but you don’t have a quarter it doesn’t matter how cheap it is.’
How much is enough?
The negative voices inside our heads answer that for us.
‘I’m not smart enough.’
‘I’m not thin enough.’
‘I’m not rich enough.’
And I love the ‘Christian versions’.
‘I’m not spiritual enough’
‘I don’t have enough faith.’
‘I don’t pray enough.’
‘I don’t study the Bible enough.’
Do a quick study of what the Bible says about how much is enough!
One day Jesus was teaching on a mountainside. It was getting late. The nearest town was a distance away. People were tired, the disciples were tired.
Then, Jesus suggested they all share a meal together. It was a preposterous idea! His friends looked at the situation and tried to explain it would take too much time. It would take too much food. There wasn’t enough.
A search for food turned up just five small loaves of bread and two fish, the perfect amount for small boy’s lunch.
What didn’t seem like enough to the over 5,000 people gathered ended up being more than enough when Jesus got involved.
What are the negative voices telling you? What don’t you have enough of? If Jesus can provide enough for over 5,000 people, I think he may just have enough for you.
Take the little steps. Trust him with the little things. Trust with the little things leads to bigger things! With Jesus, everything you have is enough.
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
What’s robbing you of your joy? I love the story of Christmas and all it’s plots that we may miss. Take Mary for instance. She was a young teenager in an obscure town. Her only hope for claim to fame would be marrying the man of her dreams.
Then the angel showed up and everything changed. She found out she was pregnant, but not by Joseph, by the Holy Spirit. From that point forward her life would never be the same. Yet what amazes me is her attitude. She doesn’t scoff in unbelief. She doesn’t argue with God about His decision. She sings a new song of praise and joy!
Too often we allow things in our lives to rob us of joy. Unmet expectations, criticism, negative self-talk, failure and more can take away the joy God wants us to have.
In Paul’s letter to the Roman believers he prays that they (and us) would experience joy and peace. Simply stated, peace is that attitude we have about what’s going on around us. We can be full of fear or faith, we can act in courage or hide in despair, we can move forward or slip back to where we were.
Joy on the other hand is an attitude of the heart. Peace relates to the external, joy empowers the internal. So, where to we get joy? When life goes south, when those you trusted abandon you, when life deals you a critical blow it’s hard to have joy in your own strength.
You can’t just decide to be joyful. But that’s where God comes in through the power of Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is control of our minds our focus changes from despair to joy.
Our enemy Satan works overtime to find ways to kill our joy. He knows we are forgiven. He knows we will be in heaven someday if we have accepted Jesus. He can’t change our destiny, but he can change our outlook if we let him.
Don’t allow life circumstances to kill your joy. God’s Holy Spirit is ready to fill you with joy, but not just any joy, joy overflowing. Imagine that. By relying on the Holy Spirit you overflow with joy and when you do some of that joy will touch those around you.
O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! Psalms 61:1
Have you ever been in a situation where you are trying to explain something to someone and you can tell by body language and other clues that they aren’t listening to you? Oh, they hear your words and see your lips moving, but the information is failing to make any inroads at all.
Or, perhaps you are like me. While I hate to admit it, there are times when I’m being talked to and my attention is elsewhere and I miss part, if not all of the message. You may even try to call the person out or even touch their shoulder and say something like “Are you hearing what I’m trying to tell you?”
Some people are hard of hearing. While they try to hear information, they simply can’t because of a physical disability. Must most of us, at least at some point in our lives, have a listening problem, not a hearing problem.
Do you ever feel like God is like that in your prayers? Do you ever want to say, as the Psalmist, “O God, listen to my cry! Here my prayer!” Notice the emotion in David’s words. In our 21st century vernacular it may come across as “ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? HELLO!”
Theologically speaking, we know God hears our prayers, but theology and practicality don’t always mix. I like this verse because it reminds me that I can be honest with God,
It reminds me that when my prayers don’t seem to get past the ceiling, I know they have been heard even though emotions tell me differently.
It encourages me to know that others struggle as I do, even King David, the ‘man after God’s own heart’!
Is your heart heavy in prayer today for a son or daughter, a struggling marriage, a past that seems to haunt you, fear of the future. Let your Father know how you REALLY feel. He can handle it and he may reward you for your honesty!
Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. Psalms 55:22
The story is told of a little boy whose favorite cat died. Wanting a proper burial for it, he took it out to the backyard and buried it under a tree. The interesting thing is, he left the tail of the cat, sticking up into the air. When I asked why he did that, he said, “I just want to check on it every day to find out if it’s OK.”
Now, that may sound like a rather silly story. However, don’t we sometimes do that with the problems that we face? The Bible tells us that we can cast all of our cares on Jesus. The Psalmist encourages us to give our burdens to God. Yet, like the boy in our story, we tend to want to check on those problems every once in a while.
We aren’t told to give part of our problems to God. We aren’t told to loan our problems to God. We’re told to give them to him. To give it all up. To trust him.
Time and again in the Bible, we are told stories of times when God’s people were up against a wall. They had a problem that they could not handle themselves. They’re only hope was to give it to God and He showed up!
Sometimes we may think our problems are too small. Sometimes we may blame ourselves for the situation we’re in and decide “you got yourself into this you need to get yourself out.” And when we are really honest with ourselves, sometimes we’re not real sure God can handle what we’re up against.
The NIV version of the Bible translates this verse like this, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalms 55:22 (NIV)
I like the word picture in that translation. Don’t lay your struggles gently or cautiously. Cast them! Throw them as you would a piece of garbage. Get rid of it. Give it to a God that can handle it.
Through faith in Jesus, we can trust our sovereign, loving, Heavenly Father to see us through every situation we encounter.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 