I Will Help You

What a wonderful God we serve who is willing and able to help us in our times of trouble.

What a foolish expression, "God helps those who help themselves."

No, God helps the helpless and takes great delight in extending strength to those who can't even look up to the heavens.

Think about the tax collector who, "standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!'" (Luke 18:13 NASB). Jesus says in the next verse he went home justified more than one who offered loud, boastful prayers who didn't see their own neediness. These are the ones that are brought low but the humble God exalts or lifts up.

Many times God has to bring us to end of our natural strength. We will toil, labor and sweat to achieve some desire end but God is patient. He waits until we are completely exhausted before we surrender. As it has been said by a beloved pastor, at the admission of our failure, God then comes with the supernatural to do what we could not do in our own strength.

It's true we don't want to feel helpless. There is a sense of losing control. Things seem to slip through our fingers and we are grasping at anything to keep from sinking. Which brings us to Peter who boldly stepped out of the boat and walked toward Jesus. But soon enough Peter's eyes drifted from Christ to the stormy seas and the strong winds tossing the boat. He started to sink but it says in Matthew 14:31, "Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" (NIV).

Beloved, Jesus will not let you go. In our struggle to overcome or get through another day or deal with a crisis we have to come to a place of surrender of releasing it all to God. In that moment, He will help you by stretching out His hand and grasp your tightly. He will not let you go under!