Our Helper

A couple years ago, after being hit by a vicious snowstorm and without power, I was standing outside and grilling some food. I had recently begun to dialogue with the Lord and was learning to recognize his voice and I asked Him a question. “What is a common misconception I have about you?”. Almost immediately a thought entered my mind, “Willingness to help”.  

What he began to impress on me afterwards was that many (me included) do not see God as someone who is willing to help in our present circumstances. Like we assume that He doesn’t care, or certain things are worth his attention, and other things are not. This would seem to be far from the truth. He revealed to me that he does care about us-about the intimate details of our lives-especially mundane things!

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever;

John 14:16

I remembered a recent time where I was installing some replacement parts for my propane grill and was having difficulty with one of the burner rods. I kept trying to dislodge a pin that needed to come out but wouldn’t budge. I was at my wit’s end because I tried everything to get this thing out and it just wouldn’t move an inch. Then the thought popped in my mind, “Why don’t you try another one?” Just then I realized I had another spare burner rod in a box next to me, and I picked it up and was able to use that one instead. It worked perfectly! I was amazed. I knew it was the Holy Spirit speaking to me- it wasn’t something I would have thought of on my own. But the fact that He cared enough about something as insignificant as this floored me!

But you see, I had missed an important point. I was astonished at how insignificant it was because I had a wrong mindset that puts God over there and me over here. One that separates you from him, where you only pray or come to him with things that you think are worthy of his attention. But what he was trying to get across to me, was that ANYTHING that is worthy of my attention, is worthy of his attention. If it’s my problem, it’s his problem.

It’s an issue of union. If we truly are united with the Lord and the Holy Spirit indwells us, we are one spirit with him. He cares about our lives deeply, because it’s his life now too! We aren’t by ourselves anymore!

But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

1 Corinthians 6:17

OK- back to standing outside in the cold with the power out. As I was pondering this memory of the Lord’s goodness and what he just told me about his willingness to help, I felt motivated to pray about my current situation. Filled with a fresh level of belief, I prayed “Lord, you said you are willing to help. Here I am without power, and it’s 10 degrees outside. I ask that you would turn our power back on quickly, and I thank you for it. Amen.”

Wouldn’t you know it, our power came back on less than an hour after my prayer, but even more amazing was that many of our friends and neighbors were without power for over five days or more. We had a massive campout of friends staying at our house for a few days!

The more I think about it, the more I have seen the Lord’s miraculous provision time and time again over the years. There was one time when I was taking my then-fiancée (now wife) on a trip to visit some friends who lived an hour away. I was dead broke, with maybe $1 in my bank account. Probably more like 50 cents. In any case, my gas tank was empty, and since I didn’t want my fiancée to know how broke I was, I decided to pull into a gas station and fill up (and pay for the overdraft charges later). As soon as I stepped out of the car, I looked up at the gas pump and it read simply this: “PREPAID: $40”. I thought, “are you kidding me?”. I glanced around, and there were no cars at any of the other pumps, and no one nearby. It was divine provision, there’s no other way to explain it! And in those days, $40 actually could fill up my tank!

Another instance that still boggles my mind was the day we brought home our son from the hospital. My wife and I felt we were supposed to have kids, and even her having our first child was a miracle in and of itself. But we were a little concerned about finances, because we knew adding another human to the family wasn’t going to be cheap! I’ll never forget this. The very same moment I brought my son into our house, still strapped into his baby car seat, I received a phone call out of the blue from my boss. He informed me I would be getting a 13% pay raise “just because”. It would be more than enough to take care of us, way more than we needed!

I could list even more examples, but you get the picture. The Lord not only loves you, but He is WILLING to help, even in the smallest of needs. I hope this will help to encourage you and boost your faith that He really does care about what you care about!

Pray this with me:

Father, today I thank you for your goodness. Thank you for caring for me, even in the small things. Please forgive me for thinking that you were disinterested in my life. I invite you into every area of my life, and I thank you for your provision and meeting all our needs. Even my current need of ______________. I thank you for providing this, because I believe you are willing to help me. I pray this in Jesus’ mighty name, amen.