Where's the Help?

Trusting God to help us is stated often in church but what does that really mean? Much of the NT deals with all kinds of crises. Several of these NT letters were written specifically to deal with all sorts of issues from sickness, divisions, relations, to death itself. There is scarcely an issue today that Christians will deal with that is not referenced in the Word of God. If you and I really want to know God’s will for our lives in dealing with particular problems we may be facing, the Scriptures will direct and help us to the right answer or course to follow.

The key to dealing with our plethora of problems is to lean to lean on and trust what God says for us to do about it. Too many of us want to make our own decisions and then ask God to “bless” what they have already decided to do or not do. The alternative, we need to figure out what God would have us to do and do it with the confidence that He will bless it. Our obedience to His commands places us in a position to receive His blessings in our lives.

Our willingness to trust God in every circumstance of life depends on our confidence in his love. All indecision on our part is an expression of distrust in his love. It is a basic rejection of God’s character and nature. When we fail to trust him with our problems we are really distrusting his sincerity and integrity. Since God truly is all-loving with our best interests in mind, we must learn to trust His love for us in spite of our circumstances.

Whether we fully understand it or not, God is sovereign over the events in our lives. Jay Adams says, “No matter how bad the crisis may appear to be, it is never beyond His ability to resolve it.”  Every crisis in our lives is part of God’s sovereign purpose for us. We may not understand that purpose while we are going through the struggle, but we will eventually see how the circumstance was for our benefit.

In the above four paragraphs, is what you would find in any number of Christian counseling books or hear from your pastor. In those paragraphs, I have stated a whole lot about God and who he has revealed himself to be: His love, sovereignty, character, will, and nature and even our trusting in him. I stated that when we fail to trust God with our problems we are distrusting his character and nature. But here is the problem that I see in the landscape of Christianity…we don’t know or at the most know very little of God’s character, nature, sincerity and integrity. How are we to trust that which we don’t know?

Think about the last time you had a physical, emotional, or some other type of problem. In confronting the situation, you say, perhaps under your breath “Where’s the help?” You then think about all the possibilities of getting some kind of assistance. Yet how many go to God? How many of us think about his sovereignty in the situation? For that matter, what is his sovereignty? The reason we don’t go to God is because we don’t know God nor have we had much history in trusting him for anything. Why? We don’t know him.

When we go to church what do you hear mostly preached? How God can help ______. You know the answer that goes in the blank – “me.” How can God help me with my emotional, physical, financial, or relational problem? And so we have one series after series on our felt needs and how to get the most out of God.

When was the last time you had a series on who God is? Can you imagine a two month series on Sunday morning on the sovereignty of God? But pastor, how is that going to help me in my finances or marriage? Where would be the application on a message on the transcendence of God?

On the first page of his Institutes, Calvin observes that the knowledge of God and the knowledge of self are interrelated. We might expect Calvin (as a good Calvinist!) to add that of the two, the knowledge of God “comes first.” Extraordinarily, however, Calvin says instead that he doesn’t know which comes first. This comment I take to be enormously perceptive. The best way to look at the matter is that neither knowledge of God nor knowledge of self is possible without knowledge of the other, and growth in one area is always accompanied by growth in the other. My perception is that we have focused entirely too much on self. My prayer is that we would regain the balance.

The question I asked myself is how? To be honest, I don’t think a two month series on the sovereignty of God or any number of series on his nature and being will work. I also don’t believe there is only one methodology that will work. So how do we bring the pendulum back on balance? Actually, the answer is not that profound. It’s through exegesis of the Scriptures. If we are faithful to preaching and teaching the whole counsel of God’s word, it will be in each and every one of our messages. Jesus came to make the Father known. The Holy Spirit was given to make the Son known. The apostles and disciples of Christ have the indwelling Spirit to continue to make the Son known.

The simple solution is to preach Christ and him crucified, buried, risen, and coming again. It’s the gospel that will change hearts and minds and by faithfully preaching and teaching God’s word, we will cry out as Paul did, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,” (Philippians 3:10). And so will you join me on the journey to know him? I believe the more we see him clearly as revealed in Scripture, we will have a greater hunger and desire for more of him versus this world. It truly will become strangely dim. He (God) has that effect on you. You can’t get close to him without his glory spilling out. Just ask Moses.