Articles
Being Willing to Seek the Lord’s Help
The Bible often compares people to sheep. One potential reason for the comparison is partly seen in Isaiah 56:3, which says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way.” Many times as people, we like to think we can conquer everything on our own, but there are countless things that could not be possible without relying on help. After being challenged by his son when he said grace, it took A.J. Jacobs two years to thank everyone who was involved in making his simple cup of coffee every morning. Mankind likes to boast that independence is the greatest sign of strength. When in fact, it is a person’s willingness to seize their opportunity to be interdependent that truly makes someone strong.
One of the hardest things a person will do is ask for help because it can appear weak, or bring the feeling of being a burden. However, God has already showed that he is willing and able. Ephesians 2:4-8 says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Redeeming our souls in the eyes of God was a task that could not be done without divine intervention. This is why the son of God, Jesus Christ, willingly shed His blood and died on the cross as the atonement for our sins. This has given each person the opportunity to become dependent on God and be eternally saved. All a person has to do is seize their opportunity to accept this free gift of grace through baptism and obedient belief.
Psalm 100:3 reads, “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” A flock of sheep need their shepherd’s protection and leadership to help find food and water. Sheep will obediently follow the shepherd they trust because they distinguish him by sight and sound. In the pasture of the Lord, do you trust and follow the Lord as your shepherd? Do you follow a false shepherd? Or, do you wander, trusting only yourself as a guide?
