“And I will pray the Father, and He will
give you another Helper that He may abide with you forever.”—John 14:16
Control is a
delusion that many people face every day.
Their decision to control every aspect of their life leaves little room
for the Lord to work. God loves us and
He wants us to do what we can, but not to the exclusion of ruling Him out. He longs to help us; otherwise, He would not
have said that He would send the Holy Spirit as our Helper and Comforter.
I read a story about
a man who thought that he could do anything and had complete control of
everything. As a young man, he built his
first home complete with masonry, plumbing, carpentry, and electrical
work. And as he progressed through life
he had different jobs that he handled with ease. Even in later years, when his wife became ill
and her health deteriorated he took over the responsibility of the housework,
and cooking, etc. He said that he thought
that he could handle the additional responsibility with ease. His breaking point came when his wife could no
longer be cared for at home and she had to be placed into a nursing home. He lost control of everything and became
physically ill. Finally his doctor
referred him to a therapist who suggested to him that he, “take it one day at a
time.” Although he and his wife had attended church
regularly, it wasn’t until he began to ponder Matthew 6:34 that a difference
began to dawn in his heart. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” He remembered a
song that he and his wife sang as teenagers, “Come into My Heart, Lord Jesus.”
Each night before he went to sleep he would repeat the words to the
song and ask Jesus to help him. It wasn’t
long before he realized that Jesus was helping him, and that He had been their
in his heart all these years, but that he had never asked for His help.
Today I encourage you to ask the Lord for His
help. He longs to undergird you and make
your burden lighter. He wants you to
know that you do not have to do every thing yourself. He is here to help you, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
Allow Him to do what He has promised that He would—just call out
to Him.
Prayer—Heavenly Father
I thank You that You care for me. Today
I am choosing to lean upon You and not what I can do by my self-efforts. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus to stay and
help me along the way, in Jesus Name.
Amen.
