Me, My, and Mine

Reading: Psalm 41, 42, & 43

"How blessed is he who considers the helpless; the LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble." Psalm 41:1

Examination:

Human nature does not naturally gravitate towards the helpless. It normally requires an event of significant force to break people away from their routines and center their efforts on the hurts of another.

Application:

My day is a grind. I am normally up before five, run hard all day, and then crash after ten. I do a lot of things during those fifteen hours. Most of what I do is intended to strengthen my position and move forward on my agenda. I take care of my kids, I love my wife, I advance my objectives, I take care of my health and I pursue my God.

My. Me. Mine. Those words build a consistent pattern in my life. I look at the world around me and it is really hard to not filter it through the lens of my own personal needs, wants, and desires. These Psalms remind me of the importance in breaking that filter.

To pursue God is to allow Him to control and direct my heart. My needs are His to cover. My wants should give way to contentment in His provision. My desires are supposed to die and be resurrected into His likeness. God's heart is to see the helpless helped. I can't follow Him and not see this trait manifest itself in my life.

Prayer:

Me, my, and mine create quite a destructive trio. Together these evil combatants take my eyes off of You, consume me with greed, and lead me to overcome anything that would stand in their way. There is truth in the saying that You help those who help themselves; but there is provision, blessing, and protection stored up for those who help others.

I ask that You protect my desire to help the helpless from the destructive force of my greed. I know myself enough to know that I will help others as a ploy to get You to bless my life. I do not want that. I want a heart that is truly bent towards Yours.

The world is full of the helpless. Move me past my excuses and center me on helping others pursue Your purpose in their life.