"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (v. 11-12)
Often times it is easy to offer a prayer to our Father seeking for help. We could ask others to pray for us regarding areas of needs. However, what do we do ourselves in order to help ourselves? It is easy to ask for help, but if we ourselves do not take the appropriate actions, then is heart in the right place? I was reminded by someone with a mutual friend who grew puzzled by the actions of our mutual friend. Our friend had admitted to having a drinking problem and sought our help in both prayer and encouragement. After several weeks had gone by, we had noticed that he would continue to stop by the bar on the way home from work. When confronted, he informed us that he wasn't dropping in to drink, but to just relax from a hard day's work. We encouraged him to seek other areas to do this. We even suggested the three of us meeting at any place he would be interested for this purpose. Unfortunately, instead of fleeing from such places where the temptations were the greatest, he continued to place himself in difficult situations. Although he seemed to be doing better after sharing with us his needs, he eventually succumbed to the temptation and was drawn further into his problem. It was not until he hit the bottom, before he began to climb out of his situation.
Seeking for help is the first step in the right direction leading to admittance to a need for help. However, if actions do not follow after the need has been realized, then it becomes very difficult to overcome it. It is easy for me to ask God to help me be a better father to my children. However, what am I doing to allow such change to occur? The action itself is not the critical element, but the attitude itself.
It is interesting how we do not want someone else including God to necessarily dictate how we should live our lives including controlling our lives. However, when it comes to a need, we expect to snap our fingers (effortlessly) and be instantaneously changed overnight.
We must indeed seek God first and ask. He will provide all our needs. However, if we ask, then we must also be prepared to receive. To receive we must open our hands and accept. Opening our hands is an action... it is the changing of our heart... our attitude. Let us therefore not ask with a close mind and hands, but ask with an open heart waiting to receive His blessings!
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