Receiving God's Help

"The LORD is my helper; I will not fear;

What can man do to me?"

Psalm 118:6

The woman was in trouble. She was reaching out to others for help. She asked a friend to help her. The friend agreed to help in any way possible. She also suggested that they pray and ask God to help. The woman said, "It won't do any good. I've begged God for help and it does no good." Her friend said, "I believe God wants to help you, but you need to know how to receive His help." 

We all need to know how to receive God's help. There are hindrances that may need to be removed before we experience God's help. First, we approach God by faith to enter a personal relationship with Him (Hebrews 11:6). Doubt and unbelief hinders us from receiving God's help (James 1:6-7). Most importantly, we need to be surrendered to God's will (Matthew 6:10).

We wait patiently for the LORD to work according to His timetable and not ours. Most of us are impatient when we are in trouble. Just because God does not help us immediately does not mean that He will not help. One more important thing, we watch for fearful thoughts tempting us to give up on God's help. The psalmist confessed, "I will not fear."

Receiving God's help is about a personal relationship with Him as LORD. That means our lives are committed to Him. In Bible days, often men would enter into covenant relationships. They vowed to help one another. A relationship with God means that we trust His many wonderful covenant promises in the Bible. To refuse to believe Him, or to doubt Him, is to say that God's covenant word is not trustworthy. To trust Him is to say, "The LORD is my helper."

LORD, we trust in all the covenant promises.