Is He Willing To Help?
Let’s be honest. Life can be tough sometimes. There can be financial stress; physical disabilities some of us face; job losses and business failures. With all that going on, it is easy for us to begin to question whether we really believe our “Heavenly Father” really does care, and whether He is truly willing to come solve your problem?
I am not speaking words of doubt and confusion, I am addressing the “stuff” folks email me about. These are the areas where many believer stumble in their faith. They profess that their God has all they need — they admit He cares but when the “rubber meets the road,” they are not convinced He is willing to come quickly to help them.
Yes, some of you “giants of faith,” want to wag your finger at them and say they lack faith, and maybe that is true, but does that really help them? Oh, you can judge them and accuse them of not taking the Scriptures seriously, but again, does that help them?
But I’ll tell you what, when our Father does not answer your cry right away, don’t start imagining that the hindrance and inner blockage is in yourself. Don’t start trying to figure out why the Lord has not moved on your behalf or His seeming unwillingness to come to your aid. Ask Him! Because when we start using our own rationale we are going to make things even worse.
Let me show you something. A whole bunch of years ago, on Mount Carmel, Elijah accused the pagan god Ba’al of child neglect: “They . . . called on the name of Ba’al from morning even till noon, saying, “O Ba’al, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered” (I Kings 18:26).
“And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.’ So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom . . . until the blood gushed out on them . . . but there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention” (I Kings 18:27-29).
Read those words again: “There was no voice . . . no one answered . . . no one paid attention.” This is exactly what we have been accusing our God of doing! That is child neglect! We pray, we cry out to our God, but we go our way believing He never heard us! We walk away from the Lord’s presence — away from our church, away from the secret closet — wondering if He even paid attention to our concerns and needs!
Look, don’t ever even entertain the thought the our Lord is not ready to hear and answer your cry for help. I love what David declared: “You, O Adonay, are good and forgiving, full of mercy toward everyone who calls out to you . . . When I am in trouble, I call out to you because you answer me” (Psalm 86:5, 7).
David said, “My God is ready and willing to answer me the very moment I cry out to Him! I do not stop and consider my trouble. I do not grieve over it or try to figure it out. I go to my Lord and cry, ‘Help!'”
As A.W. Tozer described “To experience without understanding is the act of a child. The child eats its food and has not the remotest idea what is in it or whether it is good for him or not. He experiences many of life’s varied facets and does not understand any of them. He just enjoys.” (A.W. Tozer, A Disruptive Faith). That is all our Father is waiting for — your heartbroken cry, uttered in child-like faith!
Just in case you are thinking that I am exaggerating my point some, Jesus declared, “I can guarantee this truth: Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” So there you go, you can rely on our Father. He will answer your call for help!
Nickolas
I am not speaking words of doubt and confusion, I am addressing the “stuff” folks email me about. These are the areas where many believer stumble in their faith. They profess that their God has all they need — they admit He cares but when the “rubber meets the road,” they are not convinced He is willing to come quickly to help them.
Yes, some of you “giants of faith,” want to wag your finger at them and say they lack faith, and maybe that is true, but does that really help them? Oh, you can judge them and accuse them of not taking the Scriptures seriously, but again, does that help them?
But I’ll tell you what, when our Father does not answer your cry right away, don’t start imagining that the hindrance and inner blockage is in yourself. Don’t start trying to figure out why the Lord has not moved on your behalf or His seeming unwillingness to come to your aid. Ask Him! Because when we start using our own rationale we are going to make things even worse.
Let me show you something. A whole bunch of years ago, on Mount Carmel, Elijah accused the pagan god Ba’al of child neglect: “They . . . called on the name of Ba’al from morning even till noon, saying, “O Ba’al, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered” (I Kings 18:26).
“And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.’ So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom . . . until the blood gushed out on them . . . but there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention” (I Kings 18:27-29).
Read those words again: “There was no voice . . . no one answered . . . no one paid attention.” This is exactly what we have been accusing our God of doing! That is child neglect! We pray, we cry out to our God, but we go our way believing He never heard us! We walk away from the Lord’s presence — away from our church, away from the secret closet — wondering if He even paid attention to our concerns and needs!
Look, don’t ever even entertain the thought the our Lord is not ready to hear and answer your cry for help. I love what David declared: “You, O Adonay, are good and forgiving, full of mercy toward everyone who calls out to you . . . When I am in trouble, I call out to you because you answer me” (Psalm 86:5, 7).
David said, “My God is ready and willing to answer me the very moment I cry out to Him! I do not stop and consider my trouble. I do not grieve over it or try to figure it out. I go to my Lord and cry, ‘Help!'”
As A.W. Tozer described “To experience without understanding is the act of a child. The child eats its food and has not the remotest idea what is in it or whether it is good for him or not. He experiences many of life’s varied facets and does not understand any of them. He just enjoys.” (A.W. Tozer, A Disruptive Faith). That is all our Father is waiting for — your heartbroken cry, uttered in child-like faith!
Just in case you are thinking that I am exaggerating my point some, Jesus declared, “I can guarantee this truth: Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” So there you go, you can rely on our Father. He will answer your call for help!
Nickolas
(I send out messages like this each morning in emails, and if you are interested in receiving them, send me your email address and I will add you to the list. However, you can also find these messages at: Thought For The Day)
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