Seeking God’s Help
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign. And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries’ art: and they made a very great burning for him.”
2 Chronicles 16:12-14
Francis Ridley Havergal was one of England’s best-known poets and hymnists of the nineteeth century. Among her best-known works are “Take My Life and Let it Be” and “Like a River Glorious.” Once Havergal told a friend, “When I had great troubles I always went to God and was wondrously carried through; but my little trials I used to try to manage myself, and often most signally failed.”
God is not a last resort to whom we turn when all else fails. God should be our first source of refuge and comfort. He has the knowledge, the resources, and the power to meet any need. He has promised we can run to Him for help in our darkest hours: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Yet despite the wonderful promises we have been given, many Christians insist on taking matters into their own hands and trying to deal with their problems without involving God. Like King Asa of Judah, they seek human help alone rather than tapping into the ultimate resource that is available simply by asking. We must set aside our pride and admit our utter dependence on God to receive His provision.
2 Chronicles 16:12-14
Francis Ridley Havergal was one of England’s best-known poets and hymnists of the nineteeth century. Among her best-known works are “Take My Life and Let it Be” and “Like a River Glorious.” Once Havergal told a friend, “When I had great troubles I always went to God and was wondrously carried through; but my little trials I used to try to manage myself, and often most signally failed.”
God is not a last resort to whom we turn when all else fails. God should be our first source of refuge and comfort. He has the knowledge, the resources, and the power to meet any need. He has promised we can run to Him for help in our darkest hours: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Yet despite the wonderful promises we have been given, many Christians insist on taking matters into their own hands and trying to deal with their problems without involving God. Like King Asa of Judah, they seek human help alone rather than tapping into the ultimate resource that is available simply by asking. We must set aside our pride and admit our utter dependence on God to receive His provision.
Today’s Growth Principle:
If you turn to yourself rather than to God in times of trouble, you are headed for defeat.
No comments:
Post a Comment