Jesus asked the impotent man who had an infirmity for thirty-eight years by the pool of Bethesda saying, "…. Wilt thou be made whole?" John 5:6. The man replied "Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: ..." John 5: 7. Can you imagine someone staying at a spot in total redundancy and uselessness for 38 years or thereabout while waiting for someone to help? What a waste of precious years! We, however, thank Jesus, the help of the helpless for His intervention and His word of Life that brought instant hope, faith, and healing to this man.

The man's statement revealed among other things that he had developed the mindset that the only means of getting into the pool was to be helped by some else. Unfortunately, he did not get anyone for thirty-eight years and remained in a hopeless situation. His failure to get someone to offer help over the years had probably made him resign to fate and stopped him from making attempts to enter the pool by himself. I believed that since he could move by himself as revealed in his statement in John 5:7, determination and a little more effort by him or a change of strategy would have made him go in the pool.

"I have no one to help me" is a common phrase used these days by certain people especially the youths when asked why they are not doing something tangible with their lives. People in this group have already developed the mindset that they cannot do or achieve anything worthwhile on their own except they are being helped or assisted by another. It is appalling to see intelligent, able-bodied men and women wasting and rotting away in their parents' houses or roaming the streets not doing anything concrete or meaningful with their lives because they are waiting for a relative who would send them to school or set up a trade for them or help them one form of employment or the other.
These people have taken the African close family/culture of helping family/village members as liberty for laziness and idleness. The most annoying thing is that some of them believe it is their right to be helped or assisted and they get offended when people they consider should help out can't do so due to one reason or the other. They even resort to going about to say terrible things and stories about such people. Enough of that nonsense! Nobody is compelled to help anyone. Help received is a privilege and not a right! The earlier people realize they are on their own in this life, the better for them. Would the people in this group please wake up from their deep sleep and find something doing? If there is nobody to be of assistance to you, then help yourself please! One thing many in this group have failed to realize is that nobody is ready to invest in anyone found idle or lazying about.

Having the mindset that one cannot do anything worthwhile by oneself except he/she is being helped or assisted by another is a negative mindset and it is unchristian. It is a attitude that wastes one's precious time, talents and abilities. It should not be encouraged at all in all levels of human development from childhood to old age even amongst the disabled individuals. There is nothing that makes one feel helpless, incapacitated, demoralized, frustrated, discouraged, redundant, disoriented, useless and depressed as having the mindset that one cannot achieve certain feats in life without the backing of someone else. It leads to being overly dependent on other people which is very dangerous and deadly because humans are not dependable, only God is dependable.

It is true that the beauty of life lies in helping others and that being helped makes life less stressful. If you are privileged to have people lending you a helping hand in whatever endeavor in life, that is good and well. Appreciate your helpers. If on the other hand, you don't have anyone to give you any support, it is good and well also. Embrace your situation the way it is. It simply means you have enough of the grace of God needed to achieve whatever you desire to do embedded in you. So, do what you need to do without waiting for assistance from anyone.
Beautiful and great things can be achieved without the help and assistance of other people. Many things are better done alone. People in the literary world and artists can attest to the fact that they are better off working alone. It only demands determination, putting in more effort, time and focus on whatever you are doing. Going through history and the Scriptures, one discovers that many of the great men and women achieved what they achieved alone. Nature also teaches the same. Take a look at the sun. It is all alone in the great expanse of the sky. It has nothing around it to assist it. Yet, every morning it rises all alone, in all its glory and shoots its rays of light abroad to all the nooks and crony of the world, Psalm 19:'4-6. In our modern day, many of the billionaires both believers and unbelievers alike are self-made.

Each individual child of God including you has the capability to do and achieve whatsoever he/she desires to do or become in life with or without the help of another person. This implies you can accomplish anything you dream of all alone. You have all it takes to do what you want to do. It is in you, just look inward and believe in God and believe in yourself. The Scripture says "if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believes", Mark 9: 23. Whatever has made you believe you cannot achieve anything alone is false and whoever told you that you cannot attain certain things/ success in life without the help of certain people lied. The Scripture says I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHICH STRENGTHENETH ME, Philippians 4:13.

My Brothers and Sisters, for how long would you continue to wait for the promised help that has not been forthcoming for years now? Know what you want and help yourself, do the little you can do. If you don't know what to do ask the Lord in prayers and He would show you how to go about it. Do something for yourself, God has given us the assurance in His word that whatever we lay our hands on will prosper. Instead of waiting for someone to come and give you 'big money' for that your dream business why not engage yourself in what your power or little money can bring. Start a business with the little you can gather, little drops of water makes the ocean. If your plan is to go to the urban city, then make the move to go and stop waiting for someone to come and take you from your village. Go out with your resume and scout for jobs yourself instead of waiting for someone to get you a job. Instead of endlessly waiting for a promise of white or blue collar job somewhere, why not seek any legitimate available job? If your desire is to go to school, self-sponsor yourself by working and doing a part-time job as I did in my early years. You can become that person you dream of becoming with determination and hard work and God on your side.
Let go of whatever and whoever is making you afraid to take a step towards achieving your dreams. As a believer, you have the spirit of Jesus Christ the Sun of righteousness in your indwelling. The sun does not need any introduction or help from anyone to shine. And no power on earth can hinder the sun from shining. Do something significant with your life today. Your generation is waiting for you to manifest. It is time for you to allow that sun in you that has been in obscurity to rise and shine. IF OTHERS BEFORE YOU HAVE DONE IT BEFORE YOU TOO CAN. ARISE AND SHINE!

If you are reading this post and you are not a Christian know that being alone without Jesus can be really frustrating and hopeless. Please, come to Jesus, the help of the helpless and hope of the hopeless
Come to Him now by taking the steps written below;
1) Admit you are a sinner. Romans 3:23; 6:23.
2) Repent of all sins. Acts 3:19. 1 John 1:9
3) Believe that God loves you and that Jesus His only Son died for you. Romans 5:8, Acts 10:40&43
4) Invite Jesus into your heart. Revelations 3;20

GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I. If you need someone to talk to or to pray with, don't hesitate to reach me or visit www.lovelashblog.com