So help me God.. to put my faith in You..

Surrender to the Helper?

So I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to surrender all to Christ. To make Him Lord. With my luck, this post will be all semantics anyway, but it's something I've been thinking about. And I need to get it out of my head.

Which is precisely what blogger is for. ;)

So what do we mean when we ask God to "help us" do something? Help me obey you today, God. Help me know where you want me to go in life. Help me trust You. What I want to know is why are we asking God to help us?

Now, before I get a mob out head-hunting me for heresy, let me explain. I'm not saying we need to be independent of Him. Nor am I saying that we should not talk to Him. Nor am I saying that He is not powerful enough to help us, should we ask. What I am saying is that I have had a wrong perception of the word "Helper" (John 16:7) for some time now, and I need to set it straight in my mind....

I have always been a bit of a teacher's pet (how's that for a rabbit trail? :-D No worries - I'll tie it in). Knowing the right answers, being the "good child," impressing those I look up to. For example (here's the tie-in), when my dad would cut, varnish, and nail together a shelf or tv-stand, I would be ready, lending a hand, helping. He knew what he was doing, and I was simply supplying some man-power to get it done.

That's the view I have had of the Holy Spirit being my Helper.

That's the view I need to change.

The Holy Spirit is my Helper, yes. But He does not simply supply some horsepower or extra RPMs when my emotion-mobile is low on gas. It's not supposed to be me in charge, with my "little helper" by my side. He helps not by assisting me, but by directing me.

Try these examples on for size: I am a blind man, working my way through a maze of bombs; my Helper tells me where to move. I am a boy going through puberty, drooling over every female who breathes in my direction; my Helper smacks me over the head and tells me to smarten up before I ... well, get into trouble. I am a helpless child running away from the evil man-eating-monster; my Helper is the size of the Hulk, and carries a bazooka to boom. I mean, to boot.

My Helper is no assistant or delivery man. I am not in charge. My Helper is my Director, my Supervisor, my Teacher, my Guide.

This morning I prayed, "God, please Help me serve You today." After ten minutes of thought, I changed it to, "God, how can I serve You today? If you lead the way, I promise to follow."

posted by D-Rock @ 6:38 PM