Thursday 3 Apr 2014

April 3: Philippians 4:10-13

Key Verse: Philippians 4:12
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Devotion:
There are many times when we call out for help and expect people to help because it is their job to help. Typical cases would be calling out for help at school and expecting teachers to help, calling for help whilst sick and expecting doctors to help or calling out for spiritual help and expecting the church leaders to help. But sometimes we should also be the ones who are willing to stop what we are doing and offer help toward others. It does not have to be when they call out for help but even offering help when you think they need it.

I do love to help others and I probably get myself into trouble for offering too much to too many, but that is the way my heart works. I do also tend to allow my heart to rule my life sometimes which also gets me into trouble. But if you are not willing to allow yourself to get into trouble now and again then you will always tend to do what is safe and not to expand your horizons. That does not mean to say that we should be careless in our actions because that would end up with us needing help rather than helping others – much like a breakdown truck needing help because it broke down helping a car in need.

God wants us to be good stewards of all that He gives us; which includes our wellbeing! God gives us opportunity when He sees that it is best for us and not when we think we should have it. That takes patience and grace from our side to keep going; but when the time comes for us to help, we will then be able to be a bigger blessing because we waited for the right time.

If you are in doubt about whether you should be helping someone, then start helping and see what happens rather than waiting to see what happens before helping! It is God who will strengthen you when you step forward to help others in need. If we depend on what we can do all the time we will find out that we are lacking in power, might, faith, dependability and sustainability. But when we step out in faith with Christ, we find that we can go that bit further, have that bit more energy and can continue where we may have stopped before.

Points to Ponder:
Do you like helping others?

Have you tried asking God to help you help others?