How Can God Help Me?

“How can God help me?” This question could be the cry of someone in despair. It could be the challenge of one who doubts and doesn’t see a need for God in their life. It could reflect the curiosity of a Christian who wants to understand God better and more deeply engage with God.

It’s challenging to give a one-size-fits-all answer to such varieties of the question; however, I will start with a general answer and then map it into the variants.

In my book, Live Like You’re Loved, I discuss a step that allows us to live like we’re loved: discarding your baggage. God gives us free will, but we carry around baggage that keeps us from feeling free, such as worry, guilt, anger, insecurity, mental and emotional residue from abuse or stress, bad habits, and more. We find that something pleasurable becomes an addition; that something viewed as empowering actually enslaves us; that something we crave, like approval or popularity or possessions, only makes us crave more.

It’s ironic that we should exercise our free will to become enslaved. That’s why the twist of words in Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free,” actually makes sense. We are not truly free until we have found the freedom that is in God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus offers something different than the world does. In John 10:10, he says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus promises an abundant life as God originally intended for our time on earth, and an everlasting life that extends beyond death. This is the core of how God can help us; we find abundance to replace the contents of our baggage.

God helps most clearly through prayer when we humbly and thankfully ask for help. But again, there’s a twist. God is not a genie who emerges from a lamp to grant us every wish. Instead, God offers an unimagined abundance by being present and offering peace in the midst of where we are. The Apostle Paul, in Philippians 4:6-7, explains this amazing concept:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Paul doesn’t say whether our requests will be answered. But he promises that just asking for help will give us God’s peace that towers over circumstance and keeps our hearts and minds safe.

So, to the one who despairs, God stands with you and offers a deep peace in every one of life’s circumstances.

To the one who doubts, who feels unsettled enough to ask the question, God provides a settled feeling that there is an alternative to the baggage you carry.

To the one who wishes to deepen faith, God helps you realize that freedom, peace, and abundant life are all attributes of the valuable pearl (Matthew 13: 45-46) worth giving up everything else to possess.