Help Me Jesus!

At different times in my life, I have felt that God wanted to take it up a notch in my relationship and service to Him.   To do this, I would start the conversation with a proposal.  I would say to Him something like, Lord I want to be closer to you but I am already too busy trying to do the responsible thing with my spouse, my family, my job and other stuff that takes so much time.  I would say help me Lord to make more time for you.  More time to pray, to read your Word, and to get involved in church ministries.

Let’s be honest and say that this scenario has happened to each of us often over the past decade.

He knows what a full plate of responsibilities I have, He knows and loves me for the great strides I have made in doing things for others.   Sure I can do a little more; I can mention to my neighbors that I go to church and that there is a great Sunday morning Bible study that they could attend.  I also feel really good when I can “minister” to people by showing acts of love towards them.  I feel complete, comfortable and rewarded by knowing that Jesus is nodding His head of approval towards me for doing such a good job.

I mean I might start the day asking Jesus to put someone in my path that I could minister His love to them in some way.   That’s a good thing, isn’t it?  It’s good to pray like that and then wait for God to answer that prayer.  Isn’t that enough?  I mean being available to help other people is what Jesus wants me to do… Right?  I read my bible; I pray with my wife, I teach an adult bible study class.  Also, I am involved in a men’s group at church. Really with all the other responsibilities I have I am pretty sure all this is very pleasing to Him, and I will be rewarded with a “well done, good and faithful servant.”  Isn’t this what Jesus expects of me in my phase of life?

If Jesus is asking me to do something else for Him, then I will have to give up something I am doing already to free up the time for His new thing.  Now I don’t mind doing that if Jesus is REALLY asking me to do it.  Jesus will let me know in a dream followed by 3 strangers coming up to me at different times hinting at doing this new thing for Jesus.  And to make sure it’s Jesus telling me and not my prideful thoughts I will require that this weeks Sunday sermon will be speaking specifically to the situation of knowing God’s will for me.

Could it be that Jesus is not asking me to do something different but instead doing the same thing but with a different mindset?  As good as reading the bible is, and the value of fasting and giving to the poor is, all these things could be nothing more than living out my religious life as a substitution for having a relationship with Him.

So how do I know what kind of life I am living… Religious or Relational?

The litmus test is how many times I come to Jesus throughout the day asking with a broken heart to “Help me Jesus.”  This exclamation of asking and pleading with Jesus to give me the courage to speak and act out the truth in my relationship with my wife, my family, friends, job, church, neighbors, and strangers is the quintessential behavior of a true relational believer.

Jesus is not necessarily asking me to do something different, something more spiritual.  Instead, He is commanding me to acknowledge my need for His help and guidance in all my life situations.  When I get a hold of this truth, I will hour by hour or even minute by minute be asking for His help, His courage, His strength through His spirit in me.  Doing so will allow me to be His mouth, His ears and His hands and feet pointing others to Him and making them His disciples.  Help me Jesus to make that so.