ACCEPTING HELP

2 Kings 5:3 NKJV Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master (Naaman) were with the prophet who is in Samaria. For he would heal him of his leprosy.

Now you may be a person who receives help very happily or you may be a bit stubborn and choose to do things all by yourself!😊 Today we read about Naaman who was a highly respected commander of the Syrian army who needed help, but he started off as one of the stubborn ones!

We all need the help of the Holy Spirit but we may also need the help of other people who are God’s instruments. Naaman had to humble himself to receive what he needed and there are times when we need to do the same. 

The trouble is we may not want to admit we need help. We want to ‘cope’ on our own but God never asked us to ‘cope’ with anything. He is the One who upholds, who strengthens and helps us. He never asked us to live the Christian life in our own strength. He has promised to provide everything we need for each day, each moment. 

Naaman was a fiercely independent man who didn’t like to submit to anyone and yet he came to his senses and did as he was told to do by the prophet, and was wonderfully healed.😊

God’s principles work in any situation, not just for healing. Naaman received help from three sources - a foreign serving girl, a prophet of God, and the wisdom of other servants around him who all did their part by encouraging him to do as instructed, even if it humbled him.

God’s ways are not our ways but if we’ll do as He says, in due time we can have what He says we can have, if we’ll just obey the instructions and accept the help we’re offered.😊 Amen.

Photo by Pilar Rubio on Unsplash

STRENGTHEN THE WEAK KNEES

Isaiah 35:3 NIV Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;

Hebrews 12:12 NLT So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.

We’ve probably all experienced times of tiredness, when we’ve battled with fatigue and you may be dealing with it right now. Those times when we feel we haven’t enough strength to get out of bed, or to deal with the nappies, or put the washing in the machine, or cope with the illness another day.

Those times when our spirits are at a low ebb and we think the tide will never come in again! When trying to pray seems such an effort and yet it requires no more effort than talking to a loved one or a friend and sharing with them how things are. 

That’s who God is to us and He’s ready and willing to listen to our every sigh, every whisper in the middle of the night when things can seem at their darkest. Jesus says “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden.” 

Is that you today? If so, God knows your heart, and He wants to encourage you because the next verse says this, 

V.4 say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, …. he will come to save you.’

God is on your case, He is strengthening you from the inside with His supernatural strength. Each day, each moment He is by your side holding you up and giving you hope of better days to come because He’s the God of hope, of saving grace, the God who heals, the God of great mercy and unending faithfulness to you personally.

Deuteronomy 33:25 AMP Your strongholds will be iron and bronze, And as your days are, so will your strength, your rest and security be. …Notice it says ‘So shall your strength be’, not your weakness!😊

So take heart, you are not alone, and you are being restored and strengthened day by day, safe in His hands. In Jesus’ name. Amen.😊

Photo by Cris Saur on Unsplash