Who is your helper?
In Matthew 6 Jesus is laying down what we know to be His commands. He explains the way to conquer anxiety in your life in verse 25— “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” The way in which you conquer is to not give it any space in your heart and mind to begin with. “Take no thought”— don’t allow distraction between you and God by having any emotional attachment to it. Easier said than done huh? A few verses later Jesus explained why this is so imperative and personal. He did so in verses 31-32— “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”
The unsaved (Gentiles), who do not know God, they live this way. This is not to be the way we who claim Jesus live. They “seek” these things. What exactly are we talking about? The text explains what we would consider today ‘needs’. He uses food, clothing, and shelter as His examples of what we should not “take thought” of. Why? Because your loving Heavenly Father already knows you need it. He isn’t aloof, detached, or absent. Instead the scripture says He is personal, attached, intimate, and available. Have you spoke to Him lately? Have you spoke to Him BEFORE you stressed out and worried about a thing? Have you cast it on Him before you cast it on your friends? 1 Peter 5.7 says— “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” You may be in the habit of casting it on your bestie first… but God? Why isn’t God your first and best? (see Matthew 22.37-38) There is nothing wrong with bearing each other’s burdens. In fact, we’re commanded to do so in Galatians 6.2, where it says this is how we “… fulfil the law of Christ.” But God comes first and them second (Matthew 22.39-40). And the things that stress us the most: the existential, the impossible, the deep parts of our souls strain… they can’t help with. Only God, your Heavenly Father, can do this. Chat with Him.
This should be our lifestyle. This should become our modus operandi. Using its definition, we really do create a habitual way of operating, by forming discernible patterns. We change very little in how we react and respond to things. If those things get into our heads and our hearts… we are sunk. Anxiety will be a contributing factor to our lack of faith walk. This is not God’s will for you. This is why Jesus gave us the command to abstain from “taking thought” of them. In Hebrews 13.5-6we find the why to the why, kind of a box in a box. The writer of Hebrews explains Jesus’ command here by reminding us disciples where it came from. “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” These are the true guts of the message. God and God alone is our true helper. He can send people and things, but He is the one and only true source. Let’s take a minute and unpack this passage…
When he uses the word “conversation”, he is using the word ‘tropos’ which means ‘manner of life’. The totality of our life, our patterns, our modus operandi, the manner of our life is to be without “covetousness”. There are nine usages of covetousness in the New Testament. The one used in Hebrews 13 is ‘aphilargyros’. It comes with a negative prefix, which makes the meaning: to be free from’. To be ‘free from the love of money’. Or more specifically in this case: ‘To be free from the need of possessions’. Our manner of life should be one that is not dependent on any thing or any one other than our Father who knows what we have need of before we ask Him. In order for us to not be covetous as a way of life, we need to add the one thing that allows for this to become a habit—“contentment”. Contentment cannot come from material things, for they can never satisfy the heart. Only God can do that. And that is the point of this entire lesson. He is our only source. He even said that He will “never leave nor forsake thee”. We find this truth in Joshua 1.5— “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” And in Joshua 1.9— “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Jesus also spoke to Paul in a vision while in Corinth— “Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.” (Acts 18.9-10)
We must ask the question: Where am I putting my trust? David said— “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” (Psalm 56.3-4). Isaiah said in 12.2— “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.” David went through a lot. He was in caves, lacked food and aid. He was alone often, and abandoned on purpose by so-called friends. He knew the depths of depression, anxiety, stress, and pain. In it all, He cried out to God. Knowing that Jesus was his only true hope and his only true source that mattered, He spoke with Him first and foremost. Have you ever thought events are designed to draw you close? Even the bad ones? They are. They are designed to demonstrate in a tangible way how close God really is, and how he really doesn’t ever leave us or forsake us. Hebrews 13.6 says— “So that we may boldly say…”. The word “boldy” sticks out to me. A greek word (tharharreho) means to ‘be warm’. Temperament is warm and peaceful. It’s also a peaceful disposition—to be made calm. This is why it’s most often translated “confident”. When we allow God to supply, in His time, with His best, then we can peacefully and calmly but with inner boldness say— “The Lord is my helper.” There is a confidence lost in so many believers today simply because they did not wait on the Lord. They did not depend on Him. They don’t because that do no trust Him like they think they do. Trust is an action as much as it is an inner emotive. Perhaps this is why the writer of Hebrews was inspired to use the word “say”. We can boldly say He said. Here is how we demonstrate our trust. We “say” with boldness the Lord is my helper. 1) Say it to others; 2) Say it to yourself; 3) Say to God in prayer. Talk of Him and how good He is. Do not be ashamed to praise Him publicly. David spoke of crying it from the housetops. Why don’t we? Is it because we are so well-off that we no longer know cognitively or perhaps physically His provisions? Could it be that we no longer depend on Him? Self-sufficiency is deadly to the disciple of Christ.
Here is a simple exercise that comes from Psalm 118.6— “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” Step One: “The LORD is my helper.” Recognize it, accept it, live in the light of the knowledge of it. Choose dependence on the Lord and not your own. Step Two: “I will not fear.” If He is the one who is close and not far, here and not there, intimate and won’t forsake… then what are you afraid of? Why stress if he is on the case? Why allow the circumstances to dictate your spirit? God is our supply. He is better than a number in a bank account. He is closer than someone who pretends to be. He is perfect. He is the beginning and the end of the sanity I have with Christ.
Are you depending on a pill, a cup, a person? Choose Jesus. He is better.