“Heaven help those who help themselves”

This statement I heard several times from my primary school headmaster. As I grew older, I observe it is being used frequently by most.

Why there are some truth in the statement, it is not entirely true. Though It can be used to spur people to be hard working and not to stay indolent and idle, but there are some who can’t help themselves unless heaven help them first because some are in captivity either by Satan, sickness, impairment or otherwise (2 Timothy 2:26).

Jesus Christ stated categorically that we can do nothing by our own self without Him (John 15:5).

John 15:5 KJV: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

Jesus Christ is like a tree while we are the branches. We must abide in Him in order not to fall off from the tree because without Him as the word has said, we can not stand on our own. So, since we can do nothing except Jesus help us, then how can Jesus only help those who can help themselves?

Sometimes, we sit in comfort and fail to realize and discern those in discomfort. We murmur to ourselves “he doesn't want to help himself”. For example, students coming top in class are assumed by the teacher to be the “hard workers” but fail to realize that some student might be having some secret and hidden challenges and can’t help themselves but need assistance. Some students suffer visual impairment and cannot see well unless they get medicated glasses while some others might suffer challenges like language and speech disorders, mental disabilities, difficulties with reading and so many others.

“There is no excuse for failure” is another erroneous statement used by many to molest others struggling. If we say because one having challenges excelled and other must do the same and for that reason we ignore them and fail to render the assistance we can, then we have lost it completely. No two individual is the same and we are all created by God and unique in our own different ways. No one is born dull as perceived by some. Just as Jesus came not to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance, so also teachers are called to call those who they perceive dull to acute intelligence (Luke 5:32).

We should lean not on our own understanding in the things we do and think we are helping ourselves and does not need the help from God above (Proverbs 3:5; Jeremiah 9:23) because every good gift that we can get can only come from God in heaven (James 1:17). Just as it is written “a man can receive nothing unless it’s given from heaven” (John 3:27).

John 3:27: “John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.”

Heaven must help us first before we can help ourselves. Many think they can work by their own strength but the scripture makes us understand that we can do nothing without Jesus as stated earlier (John 15:5). Working without God is a like a boat in the desert, we get stuck in one place even when we think we have arrive our destination and it all leads to a dead end.

Only when heaven help us, then we can help ourselves. Sometimes things will be on smoothly with us and then we are tempted to think it’s by own making and hard work but I tell you the truth, it’s God who still do everything regardless whether we believe in Him or not.

There comes a time when we become completely unable to help ourselves until God intervenes. Those who God help should not despise those who are still down claiming their problem was bigger than the problem of the person suffering. But rather, lets us all point all struggling souls to the cross of Jesus because He bore our suffering on His shoulders on the cross and declared it all finished (John 19:30).

Written by Faithful Servant


Origin: Biblical Christian Quotes and Lessons by FaithfulServant

=> https://www.nairaland.com/3768611/biblical-christian-quotes-lessons-faithfulservant