Oak Hill Church of Christ 4-6-25 Message: "Just Achan For Trouble"

Oak Hill Church of Christ Preaching Minister, Randy Sterling delivers a message on the importance of trusting God to keep His promises and being at peace, instead of trying to help yourself.

There's a cynical phrase: "God helps those who help themselves," describing a mindset not unlike a similar cynical phrase, "It's better to ask forgiveness than permission." The goal is to do whatever you think will benefit you in the moment, and simply ascribe God's will to it, especially if you get away with it.

As you would expect, this type of behavior is not actually taught in the Bible. In fact, God explicitly desires patient obedience (John 6:29) and rejects self-help, (Joshua 6:27; 7:1).

In the Old Testament, God had decreed that the spoils from the victory He had won for the Hebrews were not to be kept by the individual soldiers so as to enrich them (which would have been common as war spoils at the time). Despite God's command, a fellow named Achan felt differently. After all, God had put so much wealth in front of him. Wouldn't it be a crime if he were not to take some? After all, it's not like God can come down and wear the jewelry anyway.

Consider how some believers might feel similarly even today. The work to store up riches for themselves in the world, and they may even imply God's approval. "If God didn't want me to be rich, He wouldn't have made me such a good gambler."

This mindset takes away God's awe-inspiring power to provide and fools the person into thinking that God is a passive player in our lives. God is always shackled in the corner, needing us to do the work. He arrives late as a bit player to approve of our actions, or else he simply fails to do His job when our plans don't work.

Believers looking to grow their faith should consider reversing those roles. Let God act first. Be the one who receives His Grace and care. Put your trust in God and not yourself. Leave room for His actions, and His provision will be much better than what you were able to scrounge up yourself. (1 Timothy 6:17)