NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

November 19

Scripture focus: You’re blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. Matthew 5:8 The Message

Passive god – cannot help us in our time of need, uncaring, impotent, unreliable, of no practical help...(paraphrased from Soul Repair)

“God helps those who help themselves. You need to handle this on your own! After you’ve worked really, really hard – if it doesn’t work out, then you’ve earned the right to pray for God to help you. God doesn’t want any of his children to turn out spoiled!” (Advice given me one time when I suggested to a spiritual mentor that perhaps I had bitten off more than I could chew on a particular mission’s project.)

I am yet to discover the passage of scripture that reads, “God helps those who help themselves.” I have discovered these passages while I was searching God’s word:

• In Exodus 4, God offered help to Moses before Moses made his first attempt to set the captives free and while Moses was whining like a baby to God about his personal inadequacies. God didn’t say, “Hey, stop whining like a sissy and get out and give this setting the captives free assignment your best effort. I’m off to China to help in a much needed effort there – text me if you get into trouble.”


• Psalm 46:1 describes God as “an ever present help in trouble...” The scripture offers no caveats like, “but only if you really really need Him” or “but don’t try his patience – work really hard first to earn his attention.”


• The book of Romans teaches that neither trouble nor hardship nor persecution nor famine nor persecution nor nakedness nor danger nor sword can separate us from the love of God. It does not add, “Unless you’re particularly lazy or God gets too busy or distracted to pay attention.”


• John 14 encourages us to not be troubled and instructs us to trust in God. The author offers no exception clauses to the promise that God cares deeply for his children.

I could go on and on and on. But you might want to take a good concordance and reference words like “trouble” and “help” – discover for yourself all the ways God has demonstrated his active care and concern for his people since the dawn of time.

Spiritual renewal will require us to let go of some of these false gods that are not God.

Recommended reading: 1 Peter 1 - 5

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