Do you know what it feels like to be utterly helpless? It’s the feeling of a newborn baby that finds himself in a foreign world, unable to help himself in any way. All he can do is cry and hope that someone cares enough to hold him, or feed him, or change him. He can’t even say exactly what he needs. He is purely at the mercy of others.
I heard the phrase “utterly helpless” in church last week, and I realized that was the missing link in the message I was trying to write for Peace in the Storm two weeks ago. It appears in this verse in the Bible:
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. (Romans 5:6 – New Living Translation)
The message I was trying to write two weeks ago was based on two specific experiences I had with God over the past six months. The most recent one was on September 14. That morning, I sat down to think, pray and read the Bible as I usually do. At the time, I was feeling emotionally and spiritually exhausted. I began to pray, but soon paused and thought to myself, “This prayer is weak.” Or as Jesus might have said, faithless. So I said to myself, “I need to learn more about prayer.”
I wasn’t interested in reading a book, or hearing a sermon, on prayer, though. I wanted to find the answers in the Word of God. But I was too exhausted to even study the subject at the time, so I went back to praying. After I said, “Amen,” I turned to my Bible, which I had already opened to the 11th chapter of Luke, for that day’s reading.
Note: At the beginning of this year, I started a Bible reading plan that involved reading from the Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs and the New Testament (as opposed to just going from beginning to end). On any given day, I might read from one or all of those sections, but wherever I’m reading from, I pick up where I left off previously. So here, for example, I was at the 11th chapter of Luke because I had read the 10th chapter the day before.
Remember, I had said, “I need to learn more about prayer.” But at the same time, remember that I was too exhausted to go about that on my own. So you can imagine what I felt when I saw this heading over the 11th chapter of Luke: “The Model Prayer.” Wow! The first 13 verses of this chapter record some of Jesus’ fundamental teaching on prayer. His disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray,” essentially the same thing I had said in my heart. And so, He taught.
That was one experience with God that I wanted to share. The other one, very similar, occurred on April 20 of this year. As I was enduring some trials like never before, which caused me to take some earthly measures to defend myself, I wrote these words in my journal as a prayer to God:
“Lord, I do not want to live by the ways of this world. I want to live by Your ways… Show me what to do.”
After I wrote “show me what to do,” I turned in my Bible to Psalm 32:8, because previously in Psalms, I had concluded with Psalm 32:7. (Again, following my reading plan.) Would you like to know what Psalm 32:8 says? “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (New King James Version)
In both cases, it was as if I had been sitting face to face with Jesus, made my pleas to Him, and He answered. Not with some generic response, but with a specific reply to my needs. And what else should we expect when we come to God? Jesus said, in John 14:26:
But when the Father sends the Counselor as my representative – and by the Counselor I mean the Holy Spirit – he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you. (New Living Translation)
My initial purpose in wanting to share those experiences with you was to offer you encouragement to read your Bible, because I know it’s not always easy to do. It is extremely important, though, because it is the primary way we hear from God today. In those two encounters, I know God spoke to me, and He will speak to you, too.
However, there is a more necessary message here, which I didn’t realize at first. Have you ever tried to read the Bible, but had the feeling, “I just don’t understand anything,” or, “it just doesn’t seem relevant to me”? I know those feelings, too. Every time I read the Bible is not as dramatic an encounter as April 20 and September 14. Is it because God only speaks to us at certain times? No. More like, we only hear Him at certain times.
What made April 20 and September 14 special is that I came to God utterly helpless. I had nothing to offer. I was seeking Him and Him alone. Nothing else mattered. And when I was utterly helpless, “Christ came at just the right time.” I heard Him.
In our world, being utterly helpless is rarely, if ever, seen as a desirable condition. In God’s kingdom, though, it is the only condition where we can experience the fullness of all He desires for us:
God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them. (Matthew 5:3 – New Living Translation)
More literally, looking at the Greek, we could read that as, “God blesses those who realize they are, in a spiritual sense, beggars, lowly, helpless, without any honor or virtue (i.e., utterly helpless).” We find a similar statement in Isaiah:
I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word. (Isaiah 66:2b – New Living Translation)
My testimony of my experiences on April 20 and September 14 are just two examples that have proven this kingdom paradigm to be true in my life. I could offer many more, and I bet that you have several of your own, too – as do all of the saints who have gone before us (some of whom I have cited here in previous issues of Peace in the Storm). For one concluding testimony, we can look at David, who said:
“You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head.” (Psalm 3:3 – New King James Version)
He spoke those words at a time when he was weak, helpless, and on the run. Rather than trust in chariots and horses or any other earthly provisions, he looked only to his God for strength. And then, David was able to testify that God came through as his shield, his glory, and the lifter of his head.
When the world tells us to pick ourselves up, be strong, think positive, etc., let us be reminded of what God says. It’s not only okay to admit that we are weak; it’s necessary. Only then can God strengthen us, lift us up, and bless us with the fullness He desires.
