BLOG––Encouraged by Faith

You may have grown up quoting Hezekiah 6:1, “God helps those that help themselves.” Even if you know that verse is not in the Bible, you might believe it’s true. I think there is a true principle at work in that verse, but it was originated by an English philosopher and published in Ben Franklin’s Almanac in the 18th century. I do believe that the effectiveness of personal endeavors is enhanced greatly by having very close ties with God Almighty. But helping yourself without submitting to God is a formula for sorrow and loss. 

I tried it, you know. I worked really hard in the parachute factory. I drove really fast to the grain mills in Ohio. I traveled to almost every state in the Union to inspect and test equipment to make us all safe. Sometimes I did okay. But you notice, it was “I” doing all those things. I made some money. I was promoted. I even gained some limited prominence for essentially helping myself. 

What I achieved by ambitious determination is mostly, and thankfully, long forgotten. What I did in obedience and submission to God has endured. My faith was confined in those days to church and family. What I did for work was fenced off from my faith. I was a faithful husband and father, and I was a faithful church member, but when I left for work, my faith was neatly stowed away where it wouldn’t interfere with my career. I remember thinking one day at work that it would be nice to be able to practice my faith there sometimes, but I waited a long time.  

When my small department was downsized, I was transferred to a very uncomfortable place where my past successes were not valued. It was like an exile.

Eventually, I was faced with the choice of being laid off or finding another job within the corporation. I searched everywhere in the United States, but every door was closed, sometimes not too politely. I prayed, and I searched until I was led to seek elsewhere. A door was opened for me that I had only dreamed of, and it opened in what could only be described as divine intervention. Nothing I did could have opened that door. Only God could do it for me. 

I took my family and went to Saudi Arabia. All the time I was there I told people that God led us there and that I was there to serve him. As you may imagine, most Americans and Europeans did not take me seriously. Money is certainly the usual motivation for working in the Middle East, but I thought of my time there as mission. I didn’t try to convert Muslims, but I asked God to help me be Christ to them. I didn’t quote scripture to prove theological positions, but I tried as much as I could to speak to them in the words of God.

Many of my friends and co-workers lasted only a short time in Saudi. They burned out under the pressures of a culture that is wholly committed to faith. I think Muslims are wildly misled, but I do not for an instant doubt their piety and devotion. Faith supersedes words. Faith is the truth that others perceive in us. 

Let God help you. Do not presume to help yourself to what God wants to provide for you. He knows what you need and exactly when you need it. You are His beloved child, and you may be certain that he will care for you as the perfect Father!