O LORD, HELP ME!

WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL

NOVEMBER 1, 2021

TOPIC: O LORD, HELP ME!

BY T. O. BANSO

“‘Gideon,’ the Lord answered, you can rescue Israel because I am going to help you! Defeating the Midianites will be as easy as beating up one man’” (Judges 6:16 Contemporary English Version).

Because the Israelites disobeyed the LORD by practising idolatry, He put them in the captivity of the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were ruthless. They, together with the Amalekites and the eastern nations, invaded Israel, riding on camels. Their livestock ate the crops of the Israelites. The Midianites ruined the land of Israel and took everything that belonged to the Israelites.

Under the oppression of the Midianites, they begged the LORD for help and He sent a prophet to them, who rebuked them for their idolatry. Thereafter, the LORD raised a man, Gideon to deliver them. “The angel appeared and spoke to Gideon, ‘The Lord is helping you, and you are a strong warrior’” (Judges 6:12 Contemporary English Version).

Gideon expressed his reservation about what the angel said that the LORD was helping him. He said if the LORD was helping him, Israel would not be undergoing the oppression of the Midianites. He said the LORD helped them in the past but had abandoned them. But the truth was that Israel first abandoned the LORD.

“Then the Lord himself said, ‘Gideon, you will be strong, because I am giving you the power to rescue Israel from the Midianites’” (verse 14 Contemporary English Version). Gideon gave the LORD reasons why he was the wrong man for the job as if the LORD didn’t know everything about him.

But the LORD insisted that he was the man to do the job. “‘Gideon,’ the Lord answered, you can rescue Israel because I am going to help you! Defeating the Midianites will be as easy as beating up one man’” (Judges 6:16 Contemporary English Version). Just as the LORD said, He helped Gideon. He reduced Gideon’s army from 22,000 to 300, and with this small army, Gideon defeated the Midianites and liberated his people. It was clear to all that it was the LORD’s help that won the battle for Gideon and not the small army.

You need the help of the Lord. His help will do for you what no man can do. His help will do for you more than what man has ever and can ever do for you. In the battle in which King Ahab of Israel died at Ramoth Gilead despite disguising, King Jehoshaphat of Judah, a good king, who went with him to the battle would have been killed after mistaking him for Ahab. However, Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him and diverted from him those who wanted to kill him (2 Chronicles 18:31). The Lord will help you and divert every evil from you. You won’t die in place of another person

Isaiah 41:10 records the promise of God to help the Israelites. He said, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (New King James Version).

God repeats His promise of help in verse 14, “‘Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you,’ says the LORD and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel” (New King James Version). When God tells someone that He will help him, he has nothing to fear unlike when a human being promises to help another person. He may be handicapped such that he cannot fulfil his promise. He may even render the help but it might amount to nothing. His help may be unhelpful.  You will receive God’s help this season in Jesus’ name. God will help you.

When God helps someone, problems cease to be intractable. In other words, they will be overcome. When God called Moses and sent him to go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt, He was not willing to go. Moses complained that he was not a good speaker. But the LORD told him that He made the mouth and promised to help me. “Now go, and do as I have told you. I will help you speak well, and I will tell you what to say” (Exodus 4:12 New Living Translation).  That means what Moses considered to be a problem would no longer be a problem because God would help him. When you receive God’s help, no problem hinders you. You’re unstoppable.

Deuteronomy 2:24-25 says, “Then the LORD said, ‘Now cross the Arnon Gorge! Look, I will help you defeat Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and I will give you his land. Attack him and begin to occupy the land.  Beginning today I will make all people throughout the earth terrified of you. When they hear reports about you, they will tremble with dread and fear’” (New Living Translation).  

Indeed, the LORD helped the Israelites as He had promised. They conquered all the towns of the king of Heshbon and completely destroyed everyone, sparing nobody. They also took all the livestock as plunder and anything of value from the towns (Deuteronomy 2:34). When the Lord helps you, you will defeat all your enemies. None will be able to withstand you.

Verse 36 says, “The LORD our God helped us conquer Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, the town in the gorge, and the whole area as far as Gilead. No town had walls too strong for us” (New Living Translation). Aroer was one of the towns of the king of Heshbon.

Acknowledge that you need the help of God and cry to Him for it. He will help you. Judges 6:7 says that the Israelites, in the captivity of the Midianites, begged the LORD for help. Cry to the Lord too for help and He will deliver you from whatever captivity you’re in. He’ll deliver you from the Midianites controlling your life. The LORD is a very present help in the time of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

The LORD helped David; He’ll help you. “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him” (Psalm 28:7 New King James Version). He has helped many others; He’ll help you. Cry to Him for help.

David’s first attempt to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem failed because of the death of Uzzah who had touched the ark when the oxen pulling the new cart on which the ark was put stumbled (2 Samuel 6:6-7). The second attempt was, however, successful as the Levites carried the ark the proper way, not on a new cart. The children of the Levites bore the ark on their shoulders, by its poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD (1 Chronicles 15:15).

In addition, the Bible records that God helped the Levites. “And so it was, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that they offered seven bulls and seven rams” (1 Chronicles 15:26 New King James Version). The ark was successfully brought to Jerusalem without any incident except the despise of David’s wife, Michal the daughter. The help of the Lord will grant you success, even where you may have failed before.

The help of the Lord will simplify for you whatever battle you’re fighting as He did for Gideon. Cry to the Lord: O Lord, help me! The LORD who marvelously helped King Uzziah of Judah will help you. 2 Chronicles 26:7-8 says concerning Uzziah, “God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and against the Meunites. Also the Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong” (New King James Version).

Verse 15 also says this about how the LORD helped Uzziah: “And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong” (New King James Version).

You need the help of God. Acknowledge this. David prayed, “Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man” (Psalm 60:11 King James Version). He repeated the same thing in Psalm 108:12. Are you writing an examination, starting a project, going on a journey, trying to solve a problem or make a decision, fighting a battle, or whatever it is? Ask God to give you help. That doesn’t mean you should be lazy or idle. Ask Him to help you. He knows how to help you. He can use anyone and anything to help you and help you in different ways too.

Don’t trust in human help. Don’t trust in chariots or horses (Psalm 20:7). David said in Psalm 28:7: “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him” (New King James Version). I pray that you will be marvelously helped too. The Lord will help you. Call on Him for help.

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner, and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

PRAYER POINTS: O Lord, help me! Help me to succeed where I have failed before. Father, I trust in You; help me. Help me to surmount all the challenges before me and overcome all barriers. Help me to defeat those who’re fighting me. Let them not be able to withstand me.

(For over 600 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).

T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org