Have you ever heard the story of the man who prayed that God would save him in a flood? He stood on top of his roof, praying that God would save him. Three different rescue teams tried, and when each asked if he was okay and offered to bring him to safety, he turned them down, declaring that God would save him. Eventually he ended up drowning in the flood, and when he reached the other side, he approached God unhappily asking, “God, I trusted in you, why didn’t you save me?”
And God looked at him in exasperation and answered, “I tried three different times to save you, but you turned down all the people I sent!” The moral of the story: while one can pray for something all day long, if he’s not able to see the ways God is opening doors and creating opportunities because he’s waiting for God to set everything right in front of him, he’s going miss out on all the ways God is trying to answer him.
This belief that “God only helps those who help themselves” is often greatly misunderstood. I have found in my experience that there are many who have a hard time finding a good balance between praying and doing. There are many who pray constantly for help in their situations, trust God more than anything, but whose faith that He will provide seems to keep them from taking a chance with the confidence that He will help them. It’s not because they don’t have enough faith to take a chance; it’s simply that they don’t feel it is necessary until God does the groundwork and then places it before them. But, on the other side of the issue, there are those who put themselves through great struggles and pain taking risks without putting their lives in God’s hands first, and don’t turn to Him until everything fails. Personally, I definitely have a bad habit of trying to figure out everything for myself, taking leaps of faith without the virtue to fly instead of fall.
While I do think that God often reaches down to pull people out of the hardest tragedies or deepest ruts to place them on straight paths, I also think that if we truly want to receive His help in our lives to the greatest extent we need to put actions to words, but also support works with faith. Just as faith without works is dead (James 2:17), works without faith are fruitless (Hebrews 11:4-7). “God only helps those who help themselves” does not mean that God does not reach out to the fallen or lost. It does mean that those who are actively seeking to do the best they can, while also praying for guidance, are the ones who are making themselves the most receptive to God’s grace. By their prayer they are showing God they want His help. By their actions they are proving to Him that they are willing to seize any opportunities He lays before them because they are motivated enough to bring about the solution and answer they are praying for.
Basically, Will Rogers said it best, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” With God, all things are possible, so once you’ve offered it all up to Him, and as long as He remains the reason and strength behind your actions, why wait? Gandhi’s wise challenge to “Be the change in the world you wish to see” does not have to be seen as a self-empowering, faithless “carpe diem”, but rather a chance to rise up as St. Catherine of Siena declares: to become what we should be, and “set the whole world on fire.”
All it takes is one step forward, a small leap of faith into God’s hands, to show Him you are ready to receive His grace and do His will. But, once you’ve offered it up, you have to jump first.
So, are you ready?
12 thoughts on “God Only Helps Whom?”
Yes, but sometimes you pray and do what you can but things only get worse. Trust God and strive to do His will, but the worst tragedy happens instead. How would you address that? Would be grateful for your insights.
MariaGo,
I agree with you that things can get very bad. In my city, a young and working class Phillipine family, probably Catholic, was devastated while camping down south. A tornado via a large tree killed the parents and their only three children are all in the hospital with the one in a coma. I agree with you that God permits situations that are beyond these lighter faith essays though they have their place. We do need more writers though that can face the radically horrendous and make sense out of it. God was watching over this Phillipine family but strictly on the spiritual level…not the physical level as to the lives of the parents. There are relatives who will take in the children. And there are three fundraisers. But…there are three children who lost their parents’ guidance and special love for sure. God will bring good out of it…but not immediately.
I am so sorry to hear about this tragedy. I am also a Filipino po. Which city do you in? Is there a link for the fundraising? Maybe I can promote it on my Facebook page so that others can donate. God Bless po! I will pray for this family.
Will pray…here’s the link:
http://www.gofundme.com/c40u9s
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Ms. Abigail Reimel, thanks for article. I want to put my faith in action but one thing keeps me from doing so: fear of failure. Fear. Fear of being rejected. Fear of being looked as a big failure by others. This fear might come from my upbringing, but could you write another enlightening article addressing this fear (of failure/rejection). I think I’m not the only one. It’d be greatly appreciated.
Abigail this is a faith building and motivating article. I love the way you examine faith and taking action (with our faith). We need both not one or the other! Thanks for encouraging us!
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Are you
*currently* being sent into Hell forever … automatically
excommunicated (outside) of God’s Catholic Church ?
Answer:
Yes you are … you can reverse it … please continue.
Council
of Florence, Session 8, 22 Nov 1439 — infallible Source of Dogma
>
“Whoever wills to be saved, before all things it is
necessary that he holds the Catholic faith. Unless a person keeps
this faith whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish
eternally.”
You must
believe the Catholic Dogma to be in the Church … Dogma you have
*never* seen.
Site >
Immaculata-one.com … infallible Dogma throughout.
The
Catholic Faith *is not* Bible interpretation … it is the Catholic
infallible Sources of Dogma. The Catholic Church didn’t even define
the Bible’s New Testament Canon until 397 A.D. at the Council of
Carthage.
– – – –
Can a
group which enforces the opposite, the opposite, and the opposite of
the Catholic unchangeable Dogma be the Catholic Church?
No, it
cannot possibly be the Catholic Church … and promotion of the
opposite of the Catholic Dogma is exactly what the vatican-2 heretic
cult does … and has been doing since it’s founding on 8 December
1965 at the Vatican.
The
vatican-2 heresy does not have the Office of the Papacy … only the
Catholic Church has the Papacy.
The Dogma
cannot “change” or be “reversed” … God does not “change”.
The
founding documents of the vatican-2 heretic cult … the “vatican-2
council” documents … have well over 200 heresies *against* prior
defined unchangeable Dogma. Every (apparent) bishop at the “council”
approved the mountain of heresy, which caused their automatic
excommunication, see Section 13.2 of the below site.
– – – –
Section
12 > Anti-Christ vatican-2 heresies (50 listed) … followed by
many Catholic corrections.
Sections
13 and 13.1 > Photographic *proof* of heresy at the Vatican.
Because
of … the Catholic Dogma on automatic excommunication for heresy or
for physical participation in a heretic cult (such as the v-2 cult) …
… we
were all placed, body and soul, *outside* of Christianity (the
Catholic Church) on 8 December 1965 … the close date of the
“council”.
Section
13.2 > Catholic Dogma on automatic excommunication for heresy or
participating in a heretic cult such as … vatican-2, lutheran,
methodist, evangelical, etc.
Section
107 > St. Athanasius (died 373 A.D.) … “Even if the Church
were reduced to a handful …” – – during the “arian” heresy
… we are there again, but worse.
Section
13.3 > Matt 16:18, Gates of Hell scripture … is *not* about the
Office of the Papacy … four Dogmatic Councils defined it … that
heresy will not cause the Dogma to disappear.
Section
13.4 > The vatican-2 heretic cult does not have the Office of the
Papacy only the Catholic Church has the Papacy.
Section
13.6 > The Catholic Dogma on Jurisdiction and Automatic
Excommunication for heresy define that … God has allowed Catholic
Jurisdiction … for Mass and Confession to disappear from the world.
There is no such thing as Catholic Mass outside of the Catholic
Church.
Non-Catholic
heresies such as “vatican-2”, “sspx”, “sspv”, “cmri”,
etc. … do not have Catholic Mass.
Section
19.1 > Dogma on Abjuration for *re-entering* Christianity (the
Catholic Church) … after being automatically excommunicated. A
Formal Abjuration is provided here also.
Section
10.2 > Returning to a state of grace, in places and times when
Confession is not available, like now.
– – – –
Second
Council of Constantinople, 553 A.D. — infallible Source of
Dogma >
“The heretic, even though he has not been
condemned formally by any individual, in reality brings anathema on
himself, having cut himself off from the way of truth by his heresy.”
Blessed
John Eudes, died 1680 >
“The
greatest evil existing today is heresy, an infernal rage which hurls
countless souls into eternal damnation.”
Everything
you must know, believe, and do to get to Heaven is on > >
Immaculata-one.com.
Victoria
Our Lady
of Conquest
Pray for
us
What an interesting faith you have.
Is this you, James.
Yes, I commented on the comment that was deleted