Thinking Out Loud, Volume DXVII

The man was in dire straits. He found himself stranded on a tiny remote desert island with no hope for survival without a miracle. The only thing he could do was pray, and pray he did. That wasn't hard for him, because he was a believer and he trusted God, knowing the Almighty would come through for him. In just a short while, he heard a familiar sound and he looked up to see two men in a boat coming straight toward him. They told him they had plenty of room for him and welcomed him aboard, only to hear him decline the invitation. "WHAT?!?!!," they yelled in wonder. "Man, you won't survive a week on this island!" The man calmly responded, "You don't understand. I'm gonna be fine. I've prayed for God to save me, so I'll just wait for him to come through for me." The two bewildered men in the boat left without him. Just to make sure his prayers for help were getting through, he prayed one more time. Not long afterward, he looked up to see a helicopter hovering overhead. Then he heard a voice booming over a loud speaker on the helicopter, telling him they were lowering a basket, and all he had to do was climb in, and they would lift him to safety. Again, he declined the offer, using the same line of reasoning he had used with the men in the boat. The helicopter left without him. Then, sure enough, just as the first two men had warned, within five days, he was dead. When he reached Heaven, he questioned God about the outcome of his situation. "God, you let me down. I asked you to save me and you didn't answer my prayer." God replied, "What do you mean I let you down? I sent a boat and a helicopter to save you and you refused the help I sent you both times!" Yes, that story sounds a little ridiculous, and I guess it is, but doesn't that guy sound a lot like we do sometimes? I remember one unemployed man several years ago who was constantly requesting prayer about his financial situation, yet when he was offered a good paying job, he turned it down because the company was non union. Huh!?! I guess maybe he was expecting a check in the mail in an envelope that said, "To Brent, From God." I like the King James Version of Luke 6:38: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over shall men give into your bosom." The part that grabs my attention is the part that says, "shall men give into your bosom." If I pray for a promotion on my job, shouldn't my boss have a part to play in the deal? That reminds me of a story my uncle told me one time about when he was working for a car dealership. They had a new van sitting on the showroom floor, and a church group had prayed for God to give them that van. Then, on the day they all showed up to receive their gift, there was a slight problem, since God had not instructed the dealership to let them have that van, and the result was when they insisted on taking the van, they were ordered to leave the showroom. Although he can, God rarely just supernaturally propels us forward. He will answer our prayers, but he most often uses people to do his work, and he also expects us to do our part. I saw a quote a while back that I loved: "What we can't do, God will do; what we can do, he won't do." We have to do our part. If I pray for a job, I must look for a job. If I pray for food, God may supply me with seeds to plant a garden. If I pray for healing, I need to also do what the doctor tells me to do. If I pray for good sales this season, I need to call on my customers and show them my products. If I pray for God to save my kids, I need to take them to church. Failure to do any of these things is like expecting to win the lottery without buying a ticket. Although there is no Bible verse that says, "God helps those who help themselves," there is one that says "....Those who refuse to work will not eat." (2 Thessalonians 3:10) When we pray for help, God will send help....using people in the process. And he doesn't reward laziness. Preston