God Helps Those Who Help Themselves
September 19th, 2007 | Michael Q. Pink
Do you want God to bless your business efforts? First of all, find out what God is blessing and get involved in that. Secondly, give Him something to bless. Too many people are paralyzed by uncertainty and hesitancy. Instead of giving God something to bless, they wait on the blessing before they proceed. It doesn’t work that way. The Scripture says, “Give and you shall receive,” not “Receive and you shall give”.
God calls us to plant and to plant bountifully if we want a bountiful harvest. In business, that speaks of sales and marketing efforts. It could also speak of production. After you plant, you must water or nurture those efforts. If the result is sparse, seek God for wisdom. Maybe the soil was poor (wrong market) or the follow through (watering) was inadequate or the timing (season) was off.
Based on what you observe and what you learn from God, modify your approach and plant some more. We see through a glass darkly and so we often only have part of the picture. Walk in humility because God gives grace to the humble and grace is His ability working in and through us to accomplish what we could never accomplish on our own. Be sure to measure your result, seek God for continued direction, but always give Him something to work with. You will be glad you did!
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September 19th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
I sooooo agree with you. As a marketer I am amazed at those who expect their busines to grow without spending a dime on marketing or even putting effort into it. I remember some 30 years ago hearing a preacher talk about how God will not move you unless are already going in a direction. He will eagerly change your direction. Much like start the engine and He will direct the rudder. I have never forgotten that, especially when I am feeling discouraged or lethargic. I hear those words and get moving and then God blesses. I just love that about Him.
September 19th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
God helps those who help themselves is as biblical as “God is my co-pilot”
neither are. Paul said He planted, Apollos watered, But God was causing the growth. (1Cor.3:6-8). We will be rewarded for our labor which is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. If this relates to business or the market place why does it say “if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, prescious stones etc… each man’s work will become evident. His work will be revealed with fire and he will receive a reward if it was done from the foundation of Christ not a desire to be blessed in business
September 19th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Interesting tilte. It got my attention because God never said it, yet many believe that it is in the Bible.
Michael, I agree with the statements within your post, but would add that God just because your business is prospering it doesn’t mean that God is behind it. God wants us to be fully devoted to Him and no t rely upon our own wisdom.
We need to seek a balance between acting presumptiously upon God’s ability to bless our efforts and the paralysis of waiting upon the Lord for direction. With spiritual maturity comes the ability to act faithfully in small things without a lot of prayer and guidance. We already know right from wrong and can make decisions. But for things of greater signifigance, we should seek guidance and direction from God and godly men and women.
September 19th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Tony - I saw a bumper sticker once that said “If God is your Co-pilot, you’re in the wrong seat!”, and I agree with that. However, I think what Michael is saying is that you can’t just sit on your laurels and wait for God to do all the work. I believe you should at least be moving in the direction you think God is sending you! Even if you’re off the path you’re supposed to be on, God will move to correct you if you’re seeking Him - and sometimes even if you’re not, I believe!
September 19th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Hey Frances… Thanks for your input. Appreciate the support!
Hi Tony… Of course the Bible doesn’t say that God helps those who help themselves. I just wanted you to think. I believe Lorisa got my point. The Scripture does say that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him and of course Proverbs is big on the subject of diligence being rewarded in general, which makes the same point in my mind. Appreciate you writing in though.
Larry… As usual, your input is spot on. That’s why I suggested that folks find out what He is blessing and join Him. He does bless the work He initiates. Kind of like the Scripture Tony referenced which we referenced yesterday on the same subject…. One plants, another waters, but God gives the increase.
Blessings to you all!
September 19th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
“God Helps Those Who Help Themselves” Where did this come from?
September 19th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
It is funny how an old quote can end up being a great headline. While the quote got my attention the message is ‘bang on’. Yet again I thought “what has Michael got up his sleeve now?” but let me telll you that over the years I have planted seeds, watered, weeded and fertilized and the plants grow by the grace of God. Plants being a metaphor for my business. But if I hadn’t done all that then nothing would have grown and it would be my fault. So I figured out if all the planting and stuff is the right thing to be doing I can then watch and see what happens as it is no longer my garden. Maybe it never was. something to ponder!
September 19th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
I always like phrasing this one this way:
Today’s post does a great job of painting the picture that so often the blessings and benefits that God has promised us will not show up in our lives until we engage. For whatever reason, God seems to have set things up to require our participation. This is a great discussion!
By the way, some years ago I researched the origins of this particular extra-biblical quotation. It seems that Benjamin Franklin used it in the June, 1736 edition of Poor Richard’s Almanac. But it’s hard to say with any certainty that he’s actually the originator of it. Many quotes attributed to him were merely collected and published by him.
September 20th, 2007 at 9:03 am
The reason God has set up things to require our participation is because he wants us to learn to be dependent on Him.
September 20th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Michael,
Much of the bible is about how God helps those that cannot help themselves, not about those who can help themselves.
When God helps someone, he must get the glory for it. That is why uses the down and out most of the time to accomplish his agenda not ours.
Also remember, the reward we receive might not be material things.
Kern
September 20th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
it will not be scripturally correct to title this writeup “God Helps Those Who Help Themselves”. I will rather put it that God is in the partnership business. The hold of creation is configured for increase by the “spiritual technology” of giving. In genesis God told man to be fruitful (vs 28) but in vs 29 he said behold i have given you every herb bearing seed………my understanding is that God spoke to man about fruitfulness in the previous verse and showed the way to fruitfulness in the subsequent verse. in other words our seeds are key to our fruitfulness
September 20th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Michael,
One more thought my brother, Many times God does just the opposite. Gideon had too many men, God reduced the number so it would have been impossible for Gideon to win the battle. God did it so when Gideon won, God and only God would get the glory.
Another thing, sometimes we do all the right things but still get thrown into the lions den or the fiery furnace. Why, so God can show his power and get the glory.
September 20th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
The Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. Which means that you can find scriptures on both sides of the same topic, without contradictions. For example, the Bible says that those who wait upon the Lord will mount up with wings as eagles, they will run and not grow weary…etc; it also says, wait thou patiently upon the Lord. There is a place for dilligence and for waiting patiently, and both aren’t necessarily exclusive; in fact, both strategies work fine side by side or even by themselves. We don’t have to passivley wiat all the time, and we don’t have to move full speed ahead all the time either. And yes we can find biblical truths implied in some cliches that are spoken out there, or other words of wisdom, such as “the early bird gets the worm”, ” God helps those who help themselves”, “what comes around goes around”, etc. The key is to realize that the cliche is not what is written in the Bible, and to remember the biblical equivalent. I like the proverb that says: “Steady plodding leads to prospertity, but hasty speculation leads only to poverty”. May the Lord put in our hearts both to will and to do of His good pleasure! Blessings to you all!
John
September 20th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
To add to this great discussion, much of this might be categorized under the fact that many of us (I include myself) are not already doing what God would have us do. For instance, do your work heartily, as unto the Lord, not men. We don’t need to pray about whether we should be doing that or not. There are many other Biblical commands that are clear, but God will not do for us what He requires and commands us to do. That would be like a parent telling his child to clean his room and then doing it for them. God does call us to respond to Him which involves making a choice. I realize I’m walking the Calvinistic/Arminian divide here, but many make excuses and do not do what God has plainly shown (myself included!). I believe part of growing up as a Christian is doing what we know to be right (sounds like James to me!) even when we don’t feel like it. That’s also part of having a renewed mind, being able to make godly decisions (Rom 12:2, Heb 5:14. How about “train yourself to be godly?” The impetus is on us to move in obedience to the clear commands of God, because He is already moving in that way anyway. In other words, since the Holy Spirit wrote the Word, when we obey the commands of Scripture we are obeying the Holy Spirit.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
I think also that Michael you and others are helping to break the sacred/secular divide between Christianity and business. After all, Paul was a tentmaker, others in Acts had businesses. There’s an excellent way to do things. For instance, if you were a car repair shop, you would need training on how to repair a car. You would not need to pray in most cases (except for the hard ones), about how to change a tire, sparkplug, or wait for guidance on how to do it! As well, following Biblical principles in the marketplace helps us obey the 2nd command!!
I’m sure we’ve all heard the story of the guy on the rooftop after a flood who prayed for God’s help and ignored the boat, helicopter, etc and then got to heaven and asked God why He didn’t help him, after sending the boat, helicopter, etc. Point being, by negating the idea of God helps those who help themselves, in one sense we’re negating the sovereignty of God, as He is already working behind the scenes. Acts 17:26 makes it clear that God is intimately involved in our lives!!
September 20th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
I’ve always hated that phrase… It’s not scriptural. BUt I appreciate your intent behind it, as outlined in the body of your blog.
If God’s extended hand of mercy can be summed up, Ive seen that God helps those who help others. Other than that, it’s all about His grace and our individual relationships with Him.
As for our businesses however, I couldn’t agree more that it’s about good old fashioned hard work and a bit of common sense. We need to be wise, not just Crhistians. LOL! I too have seen many Christians sit back and expect God to do all the work. At the same time, I’ve personally worked very hard, but lacking certain wisdom (which comes from experience) only to have nothing to show for the hard work. That’s part of the ebb and flow of life.
What we are doing here and now is so incredibly temporary. This life is about building our character more our businesses or our pocketbooks.
I liked the comment that “God helps those who help themselves to Him.” It’s very true. God is always available, but if we chose our own resources, then that’s what we get - our own glory. Outside of that, personally, I’ve learned that God also has given each of us good solid common sense - if we would put aside our own understanding. Our society doesn’t teach reason, only facts. God says, “Come, let us reason together.”
Blessings.
September 21st, 2007 at 7:24 am
This verse seems to always messed up just like money is the root of all evil! Well, the love of money is and how it used! I would like some more money, but God provides me with what I need. When He sees that I need more, He provides me with the opportunity to work several hours of overtime to cover what needs to be covered.
I have been praying about starting a Christian-based business that will take a substantial amount of capital to start. I have been praying to open this business for about 15 years! I have not given up because I want to be ready when God is ready for me!
September 21st, 2007 at 10:05 am
Many of you need to go back and read Michael’s article because he begins with a question, “Do you want God to bless your business efforts?”, and then he states, “First of all, find out what God is blessing and get involved in that.” I interpret that to be that Michael is stating that one must first seek God’s will for your business efforts through prayer, scripture, the prodding of the Holy Spirit, etc. If you are in business or in our everyday existence as Christians there is always a need for correction in our direction. Moses, King David, Paul and Jesus our Saviour sought God’s will.
God’s blessings
September 21st, 2007 at 10:36 am
Some research indicates that about 75% of all Christians believe that “God helps those who help themselves” is from the bible.
But what God is teaching me this year is just the opposite. God is helping me because I have recognized my dependence on him. When I rely on him, that’s when I succeed.
I’m finding verses like:
Jer 17:5 (NIV) This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.”
Prov 28:26 (NIV) He who trusts in himself is a fool…
Isaiah 25:4 declares, “For You have been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat…”
Romans 5:6 tells us, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
I know that God expects me to be responsible for my life. It is wrong, I believe, to just say, “OK, God do it all for me; I’m relying on you.” We have to step out in faith. We have to do our part. Much of the book of James talks about the wrongness or incompleteness of faith without works. Our works demonstrate our faith.
I have seen the quote, “God helps them who help themselves” in Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations attributed to some old Greek guy. It’s more recently attributed to Ben Franklin, who also said “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” And as I just saw recently, someone said, “if you want to say something and get it believed, attribute it to Ben Franklin.”
It sounds wise; it sounds biblical. But we need to depend on God and not ourselves.
September 22nd, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Since God helps those who help themselves, how do we explain salvation? The Bible says that, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6 NISB).”
September 23rd, 2007 at 8:28 am
Annette,
That is because God does NOT help those who can help themselves but helps those who cannot help themselves. Michale is mistaken. That is why with anyone we are to search the scriptures to see if what they say is biblical. Too many Christians do not do that and that is why we have so many baby Christians.
Good for you that you did that.
September 23rd, 2007 at 11:18 am
Kern,
Speaking of searching the scriptures, I’d really be interested in seeing a scriptural basis for this statement you made:
“…God does NOT help those who can help themselves…”
I can’t seem to recall an instance in scripture where God refused to help anyone who called on Him out of a pure heart and with faith — regardless of their status in life.
Also, to Annette & Kern, I would challenge you to re-read Michael’s post. Not only was he not talking about the new birth experience — which is what you seem to be referring to — but he laid out a very scriptural concept: find out the mind of God before expecting Him to bless you, then engage the process. It’s hard to imagine anyone who has even a basic understanding of the scriptures having a problem with that concept.
September 23rd, 2007 at 7:14 pm
David, you need to read my comment, I never said the bible says God does not help those who can help themselves. And no I am not talking about the new birth experience. But one thing it does say is that God must get the glory.
September 24th, 2007 at 8:57 am
I love this article. We must indeed give God something to work with, something to bless. I think God blesses obedience, especially in the little things. Are we covering our basics? Are we hallowing our quiet times, our assembling with other believers, our constant prayer? Are we living according to His Word? If we are, we will definitely give Him something to bless and we will be in on what God is blessing. For how can we expect God to show us great and wonderful things which we know not, and use us in a great way, if we aren’t obedient to the things He has already revealed to us and shown us so clearly? It is the “little foxes that spoil the vine”, the Scripture says. If little sins lead us into bigger sins, then a little obedience will lead us into even greater obedience. So let’s focus on covering the basics and zealously guarding our duty to the Lord, moment by moment, with the help of His Holy Spirit.
Blessings to all!
September 24th, 2007 at 9:07 am
We have nothing to give God. Paul said that all of our deeds even our good ones, are as filthy rags. Now it is true, God will bless obedience and faithfulness but it might not be a material blessing. God is God and who knows the mind of God?
A great read is Job 39 through 42.
September 24th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Kern- Did you read way up at the top? Michael said… Of course the Bible doesn’t say that God helps those who help themselves. I just wanted you to think…
- and then to say that’s why we must search to make sure what people say is biblical…. I don’t see the need to be insulting.
Annette- make sure you read ALL the entries here. There’s alot of good truth here. I don’t believe anyone is downplaying what Christ did for us.
I do believe Michael got a lot of people thinking!!
September 24th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Sowing bountifully is in intself a seed of obedience, because the Bible clearly teaches that those who sow bountifully will reap bountifully, and those who sow sparingly will reap sparingly–both spiritually and materially–, although not always materially. There are periods of drought, like the one we are experiencing in the present housing market in most parts of the country. To mitigate the effects it is having on our business we are practicing the principle of “not putting all our eggs in one basket”. I wonder if there’s a Biblical equivalent for that one?…
September 24th, 2007 at 10:05 am
John,
A friend of mine who is an investment advisor for people uses this Scripture, which I had never seen used in this context, as a way to diversify:
“Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.”
Ecc 11:2
Blessings,
Dennis
September 24th, 2007 at 10:45 am
I did read up at the top but I think Michael was covering himself. If not, Michael forgive me. Anyway, you do not say that the Bible says something when it does not even to make people think. Poor choice of words in my opinion.
September 24th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Thanks, Dennis! I knew there had to be an equivalent Scripture for that saying, as I am sure there is one for “God helps those that help themselves”. Mrs. jefferson, above, suggested that God saved us without any effort on our part, and she backs that statement biblically; however, there is a sense in which we do respond by faith to God’s grace, and that response is in itself “work”, “effort” or helping ourselves, as the Bible says: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent”, John 6:29. And so God’s Two-edged Sword reminds us once again that there is always a practical side to our faith, even if it is just believing…
September 24th, 2007 at 10:56 am
Kern! He never said the Bible said it - he said it doesn’t! You are, however, entitled to your opinion.
September 24th, 2007 at 11:07 am
John,
Well said, I had in fact been thinking about that distinction. We could not save ourselves, yet we have to respond. Although there is that Scripture in Acts where Peter says to the crowd, “save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” I guess it points to the need, as you say, to look at the whole counsel of God. We could never be righteous in and of ourselves, so Jesus fulfilled that righteousness for. In that sense, it does fit, as it says “you see, at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. As since one died, all died.” It’s sort of splitting hairs, and I think what happens though is that we play to much in the arena that there is nothing we can do to help/save ourselves, in that Christ had to do it. However, once done, we do have a responsibility to move forward. “Work out your own salvation with trembling and fear.” I think Michael’s point is that we must take responsibility where God has given it to us. He will do His part always, we must do our part, and when the two meet, watch out!!
September 24th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I concur, Dennis. Speaking of doing our part…I better get back to work!
As Woodrow Kroll would say: “Have a good and godly day!”
September 24th, 2007 at 11:59 am
John, I agree we have to respond. But without God giving us the faith to respond, none of us would respond. And many that think they are saved, are not.
We do have the responsibility to continue to move forward, pray, seek God’s wisdom walk in the spirit each day. But even doing all that, God sometimes does not bless us here on this earth but we will receive our rewards in heaven. Which is more important.
September 24th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Kern;
God helps all of us… Not just those who can do nothing. He helped Caleb take the mountain with the giants living on it. He helped David and Jonathon and on and on and on…
My point was that God expects us to do our part… Faith without works is dead, etc.
Blessings,
Michael
September 24th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Michael,
I understand that we have to do our part but we must do it by faith. Good point about faith without works is dead. But I believe we have to many Christians trying to work themselves to heaven instead of living by faith.
Good discussion and keep up the good work.
God Bless,
Kern
September 24th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Quite right, Kern! God gives us a measure of faith, and salvation is to all who believe; therefore, we can assume that those who reject the Good News of God’s forgiveness and eternal life in Jesus did not use, or do not act responsibly with the measure of faith God gives them. I think it goes back to what the author of the article “God helps those that help themselves” is saying “Walk in humility because God gives grace to the humble and grace is His ability working in and through us to accomplish what we could never accomplish on our own.” In conclusion, I find that God is eternal, and all apparent paradoxes are resolved in Him. He is both the Alfa and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is not, however, both good and evil, for that would not be a paradox, but a violation of His nature, an oxymoron, a contradiction, a non-truth, a confusing statement. And we both know God is not the author of confusion.
Blessings!
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:34 am
Hey!…I Googled for ben franklin quotes, but found your page about God Helps Those Who Help Themselves…and have to say thanks. nice read.