Tuesday, March 24, 2015

How To Know When To Help




“He must increase, but I must decrease.” —John 3:30

“If you become a necessity to someone else’s life, you are out of God’s will. As a servant, your primary responsibility is to be a “friend of the bridegroom” (John 3:29). When you see a person who is close to grasping the claims of Jesus Christ, you know that your influence has been used in the right direction. And when you begin to see that person in the middle of a difficult and painful struggle, don’t try to prevent it, but pray that his difficulty will grow even ten times stronger, until no power on earth or in hell could hold him away from Jesus Christ. Over and over again, we try to be amateur providences in someone’s life. We are indeed amateurs, coming in and actually preventing God’s will and saying, “This person should not have to experience this difficulty.” Instead of being friends of the Bridegroom, our sympathy gets in the way. […] Listen intently with your entire being until you hear the Bridegroom’s voice in the life of another person. And never give any thought to what devastation, difficulties, or sickness it will bring. Just rejoice with godly excitement that His voice has been heard. You may often have to watch Jesus Christ wreck a life before He saves it (see Matthew 10:34).” CHAMBERS

There are a couple of points raised by Chambers.  First, we must be careful that people don’t trust in our provision more than God’s.  We might have the capacity to help someone, but in helping them, they focus on us and not God.  I have said this before, so indulge me, “The only thing we can take credit for is being obedient to God.  God is the ultimate provider.” Woe to the well-meaning Christian who provides when they should not because of misguided sympathy.  The help leads to dependence, may co-dependence, which is unhealthy and unspiritual.  The second point is the sometimes in our effort to relieve the pain or subvert the consequence, we intervene.  Our intention is to help, but unbeknownst (another great word) to us, we are getting in God’s way.  We would never intentionally do that .. would we?  If we see our children struggling, would we stand by and let God use that circumstance to draw them closer to himself?  Even in the face of being accused of not loving them? 

In Matthew 25 is the parable of the sheep and the goats.  The common question “Lord when did we see you?”  The Lord’s response, “When you did … or did not … do these things”  In the parable, the goats withheld the help needed and the sheep gave it. We should help others, but that help requires spiritual motivation and understanding.  Which addresses the question begged from  the points Chambers made, “When should I help?”  The answer is simple but the doing is difficult.  Knowing when requires spiritual discernment.  To have spiritual discernment requires that you spend time with the Lord .. prayer .. the Word … Even when you believe you know what the Lord would have you do …. Sometimes you will get it wrong.  Sometimes people will say you should not have .. and other times, others will say you should have … Listen for the voice of the Spirit saying “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21), do what He says and give the Lord the glory.  ELGIN

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

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