Daily Devotional for Friday December 3, 1999

Helping Others

(Galatians 6:2)

Helping others. So much of the mail I get each day involves people trying to understand God's will for their life. I have talked about this subject many times, since many of our problems in life are because we are living outside the will of God. There is a unique and specific plan for each one of our lives, but there is also a general plan we all share. Today, I want to look at one area of that general plan we all share if we are to be in the will of God. It is helping others. You can read for yourself all of the passages in the Old and New Testament that talk about helping others. Jesus talked extensively about our duty, not our option, but our duty to help others. Paul in his letter to the Galatians says that when we bear one another's burdens, we are fulfilling the law of Christ. You see, God doesn't try to trick you, or make you guess what His will is. He comes right out and tells you what He expects from you to be in His will.

Helping others can take many forms. Praying for someone else's needs. Listening to someone who needs to talk about their problems. Stopping to help someone who is in need. There are many ways to help someone, but I want to reiterate, it is not something you do if you want to. If you truly want to be in the will of God, you need to be actively looking for ways to help others. You see, our ultimate service to God comes when we are serving the needs of others. God put us here to serve and glorify Him with our lives, and one of the most effective forms of service is by attending to the needs of others. I have to tell you, for many years I spent 50 weeks a year doing evangelistic meetings in churches of all denominations all over the country. The last 5 years, my ministry has been producing programming for Christian television stations throughout the nation. I have been very fulfilled in serving God through these years of ministry, but I have never been more excited as I am now about the work I am doing here at Liveprayer.com. Why? This work is serving others in it's greatest form. Being available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, accessible literally to people all over the world, our only mission being to share the hope and love we have in Christ with people in their time of need. It doesn't get any better than this.

I will be praying today that you get very serious about helping others. not just during the Holiday season, but 12 months a year. Again, it is not an option, but a command from God. Trust me, when you make it a priority to serve others, God will open those doors and keep you very busy. On a personal note, I can tell you from my life experience, that as I stayed busy serving the needs of others, God was busy taking care of my needs. Sometimes you get so focused on your needs that you forget others. Instead, focus on others and you will be amazed how God will work out your problems. I always say that if you are about His business, He will be about your business.