Food for thought. God always provides! Photo from BJ Gabrielsen’s yard
When we as individuals put our faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for the payment of our sin debt to God, and asked Him to come into our lives, we received a special gift, namely the presence of the Holy Spirit Himself. John 14:16-17 (NewAmerican Standard version) expresses it this way. “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.” This Helper will stand alongside us in any trials we may face.
We men often face life’s issues (e.g. prostate cancer or other crises) with a stiff upper lip, trusting our own ingenuity and skills to get us through. In choosing to follow the Lord, however, we agree to adopt a totally different mindset. We’re weaker than we could have imagined but through the Holy Spirit, we are stronger than we dare to hope. Whether our struggle is physical, emotional or spiritual, we can rely on the Holy Spirit to intervene with God and help us. The apostle Paul gives us a perfect example of what this looks like. While dealing with pain from a physical condition, Paul prayed that the Lord would take away what Paul referred to as a “thorn in the flesh”. Instead of removing it, God said His power would be manifested or “perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Too many Christians operate under the misconception that “God helps those who help themselves” or that God helps us only when we have gone as far as we can go. In reality, His Spirit doesn’t add to our strength, like some kind of spiritual steroid. Instead, when we admit we are powerless to help ourselves, the Holy Spirit gives us the strength we need to face any challenge with absolute confidence in God.
If you are not sure of your relationship with God and His Son Jesus Christ, and therefore may not possess the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in your life, please see the website section entitled “How to Enter Into a Personal Relationship with God.” Portions of the above were taken from the InTouch devotional dated October 8th, 2015 by Dr. Charles Stanley.
