God Helps Those Who Help Themselves?

I often hear people quote the Bible saying, “God helps those who help themselves.”  The problem is that it is not in the Bible. It is a lie which is unbiblical that has trapped many well-intentioned people who are helping themselves without God’s intervention. This can cause many problems as they move in the flesh and their own strength. Saul is a great example of this.

As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. And Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 1 Samuel 13:9b-14

Saul felt that he had waited long enough so he took control of the situation. What could possibly be wrong with that? He was a go-getter, a characteristic which is usually applauded by the world. However, Saul was looking at the people instead of focusing on God and His commands. When we take our eyes off the Lord, we tend to take matters in our own hands as we are moving in our flesh instead of the Lord’s Spirit. And there are times when the outcome may seem to be good for a time, but later there may be some regrets. Remember, Abram and Sarai? This was before their name change. Sarai felt that she was waiting too long on the Lord and thought it was impossible that she could have a child in her old age. So, she came up with her own plan.

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. Genesis 16:1-4

What a tangled web we weave, when to God our situations we don’t leave. Sarai should have waited on God, and Abram was also at fault because he was just too quick to heed Sarai’s advice even though he knew what God had promised. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael and later his descendants became the enemies of Israel. However, before we go judging Abram and Sarai, we should look at our own hearts. Have you ever thought God was taking too long and decided to do things your way? Well, I have, and the outcome was not so good. Our decisions can have long reaching effects, so it is better we seek God and wait on Him before we make a costly choice. That doesn’t mean we must be inactive and do nothing. The waiting period is usually a time of preparation. We just need to keep on lifting up our eyes to the hills where our Help comes from, and He will guide us.

For You have been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; For the breath of the ruthless is like rain storm against a wall. Isaiah 25:4

God is not only our Help, but He may also use us to help defend the helpless and the needy, while we are still waiting on His assistance. We need to keep ourselves humble before Him, because when pride raises up its ugly head, it wants to do things in its way and in its time, instead of waiting on God for His help. We should also never forget that God’s grace is sufficient, and His grace is perfected in weakness. (See 2 Corinthians 12:9). He gives us grace and strength as we wait for His help. He is ready to help, but we must also be ready to wait on His timing and to do things in His way.

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6

God has a right time, so we should never try to force His hand and run ahead of Him to get things done. We need to accept our helplessness and rest in Him, while He works things out. We may not see the pieces He is putting together, so if we try to help ourselves, we may create a mess and hinder the help He is giving us. So it is best to wait on God and give Him the space to help us as He pleases.