His Gentle Prodding to Help

May 27

It is difficult to stand by. Although we may not be ‘Type A’ personalities, we do tend to want to jump in with both feet and ‘help out.’ Perhaps it begins in childhood when we see our baby brothers and sisters struggling to learn to tie their shoes, for example. We want to simply do it for them.

This trait follows many of us through life. We can hardly keep ourselves from involvement with the affairs of those around us who may be wrestling with difficulty. As teenagers we extend our counsel to our friends who are wrestling with girlfriend/ boyfriend problems and as adults we extend our advice to anyone who will listen.

When we become believers in Christ and followers of His plan for us, we discover that our tendency toward investing ourselves into the lives of others is encouraged. Of course, we must listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit in order that we do not intrude ourselves into matters where the Lord would not wish us to extend assistance, but as a matter of course, we should be anticipating His gentle prodding to help others.

This willingness to be available to help shoulder the burdens and focus the thinking of our fellow sojourners through life’s mountains and valleys is stated in I Thessalonians 5:11 where it says, “Encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are doing.” This verse seems to recognize that there is an innate tendency within man to reach out—it is God-planted and should be submitted to His direction.