Ever falter? You have a problem and you don’t turn to God for answers, you turn to others. You have financial difficulty and spend hours planning ways you can borrow the money to meet your needs. Your car breaks down, and you worry and fret until you make arrangements to fix your situation. There is faithlessness in these scenarios. We rely on ourselves. We are so used to digging ourselves out of our holes in life that we tend to think it is our own works, our own knowledge, our own goodness, that gains favor with God. We think we are doing all the right things, so God will help us meet our needs.
What we fail to remember is that the Lord has already told us He will take care of us. When problems present themselves to us, God knows they are coming. Some of them He allows in order to bring us back to Him. Some difficulties are a result of our own disobedience; they are the consequence of our actions. Some trials are given to us to develop our faith, strengthen our witness, or manifest His presence in our lives. The Lord is most glorified in our weakness, in our dependence upon Him. We want to show the world how good God is by how we live in honor of Him. Yet, He wants to show the world how good He is in spite of our faithlessness.
“ I will heal their faithlessness; I will love them freely, for My anger is turned away from [Israel]. I will be like the dew and the night mist to Israel; he shall grow and blossom like the lily and cast forth his roots like [the sturdy evergreens of] Lebanon.” Hosea 14:4-5.
I’ve had times in my life when I’ve looked to myself or others to help me. I have sought comfort in friendships. I have sought power in leaders and government. I have even turned to medicine to calm my nerves. It does not please God when we look to these things for our solution. He wants to be our all. He wants us to look to Him in the darkest hours. Indeed, He wants us to turn to Him with the tiniest of details. If not, why would His Son instruct us to pray for our daily bread, that we not be led into temptation? Who are we to stand against Satan without our Father’s help? We are weak vessels in need of our Lord and Savior all the time. When we are faithless, only God can heal us. He promises to heal us and restore us. What a God we praise! What a Savior we share with others! The world offers nothing in comparison.
PRAYER: Lord, forgive us when we turn to the world for help. Help us be ever mindful of your continual love for us. Help us remember that when we are weak and frightened, You care for us. You are our Creator and our God.
© Hariette Petersen, SelahV Today, 2010
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Hariette Petersen makes a very valid point that, all too often, we turn to God as a last resort, rather than seek God’s strength and guidance first. Another verse that fits well with her comments is Romans 8:28: “All things work together for good for those who love God and are fitting into His purpose.” It is hard to find God’s blessing in trial if we aren’t looking for it! But I would add the clarification that turning to friends or other sources of help (financial advice, support of Christian friends, etc) is not in itself bad: God often uses these means to help. The key is to look for God in whatever resources are available. This is especially tricky but true with medication. There is no doubt that Americans are overmedicated. Instead of turning to spiritual resources and personal accountability, we just want a “quick fix.” But there are times when medication is God’s way of helping us deal with physical and even emotional problems. For example, rarely can one escape clinical depression without medical intervention. The medicine re-establishes the chemical balance in the brain so that the person can then have the ability to talk with a Christian counselor about the root causes of their anxiety/depression. Remember, even Jesus used mud and spit to heal the eyes of a blind person! The key is not the means, but the source of our wholeness and healing: God first and last.
This was a WONDERFUL and INSPIRING reminder to me. I am continuously in a state of worry. Thank you for the gentle nudge to allow God to handle the tribulations in my life.