Not 911

UV 641/10,000 Ebenezer God O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. Hosea 13 v 9 Too much of self reliance can lead to self destruction. Besides each of us have some embedded weaknesses in our human nature- it could be lust, love of money, pride, anger, jealousy and so on. Israel’s reliance on the traditions of Judaism itself keeps her from the salvation that is revealed from the midst of that nation. No nation has been so persecuted in history as the Jews. They were scattered from time to time by the Persians, the Roman Empire and a large number of them exterminated by Hitler in the most cruel of ways. People both individually and collectively have pressed their own self destruction button by their lack of knowledge of God and His ways. Just as man hesitates to look to God for help, He delights in rushing to our help in our hour of need. He will however not force His help on us. He will even let us mess around till we look to Him for help. But, the uni-verse above reveals one of the underlying principles of the God-created order: “ in Me is your help” or I am your helper. Many people are not willing even to acknowledge that they need the help of the Creator to live life. To be a self-made success is a fiction. We all need help. We need help to deal with our own inner selves. We need help to deal with others. We need help to deal with various life situations. We need help to make correct choices. We need help not just once in a way but every day. Even if perchance we are able to do all this on our own, each of us need help to be saved, to live forever and not to have our souls perish. Faith does not provide a crutch for weak people. It provides an armour for vulnerable people and which strong warrior was not vulnerable at the height of the battle. God reveals Himself in this uni-verse as “ Ebenezer”. Our help comes from Him. His grace and power is sufficient for every conceivable situation and every impossible or difficult situation. He will help us sustain in difficult times: in times of plenty and times of famine, in times of victory and defeat, in times of success and failure, in times of joy and sorrow. Seeking the help of God is predicated or contingent on a personal relationship with Him but to seek His help only in times of need is demeaning to His stature and Being. He does not like to be used as an impersonal Emergency Number or 911. But, He loves to be of help all the time and every day, every hour, every moment. Prateep V Philip