Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Help!

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

One dark, moonless night, a man was walking down an unfamiliar road. On either side was a deep ravine. Suddenly he stepped into space and began to fall. Thinking that he was falling to certain death, be began flailing his arms and clutching for anything that he could get his hands on. He was able to grab a protruding bush, and he hung onto it for dear life. It was agony; his arm became numb. At last, in weakness and despair, he let go and dropped—six inches to the bottom of the ditch.

Think of the needless agony that that man went through because he didn’t let go sooner. Think of the needless agony that you go through in the midst of your worries because you won’t let go. Peter says to cast all your anxiety on God because He cares for you. But so often, we turn to God only as a last resort. It’s an old joke: "when all else fails, read the directions." Think of all the times you couldn't find something at the store, you had lost your way while travelling, or you were trying to assemble a toy for a child without success. In each case, help is available--you only needed to pick up the instructions, unfold the map, or ask an employee for help. Why didn't you? Because we are all full of stubborn pride. We don’t want to look stupid or weak or needy—we want to reach our goals without help.

When you are sick, you go to the doctor—but when do you pray to God for help? After the doctor has failed to help you? Wouldn’t it make more sense to pray to God before you go to the clinic, and ask Him to give your doctor wisdom in prescribing your treatment? When you are falling behind in paying your bills, you might seek credit counseling or take out a loan from the bank—but when do you pray to God for help? After your loan application has been turned down? Wouldn’t it make more sense to pray to God before you try any other solution for your problems?

Our sinful pride doesn’t like us asking for help. We’d rather try and fix things ourselves. Besides, if we ask God to get involved, He might not solve our problem in exactly the way that we would like. But let’s be honest: God is much wiser than we are—He can offer a much better way to solve our problems than we can come up with on our own. So trust God. When you have a problem, pray to Him before you do anything else. Let go, and let God.

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