“But God”, “Then God”, “Yet God”; have you ever heard these words spoken or read these words anywhere? I have heard them many times, not by themselves mind you, but always in the middle of a sentence or paragraph that goes something like this: “I was in deep trouble, I didn’t know where to turn, I was penniless and my children needed food, so I prayed to God to help me and THEN GOD did something miraculous. He provided for my needs in ways that I would have never imagined. I was fed and clothed.

How about this one? “I had been dating for a quite a long time and nothing seemed to be working out. I was getting frustrated and tired of it so I quit, I told the Lord, ‘If you want me to have a wife you are going to have to bring her to me.’ Not two nights later I went out with some friends to just listen to some music and relax and low and behold guess what, just THEN GOD gave her to me.”

Here’s another one. “I was laying in the gutter stoned out of my mind. All I wanted to do was die. I had given up. I was worthless. My life meant nothing to anyone. I was about to run out into the street and end my life. BUT GOD had other plans. Just then a man came up to me, helped me to my feet, and asked me if I needed any help.” He brought me to a shelter, got me into a treatment center and befriended me for as long as I needed.” Go really helped me out there.”

The stories go on and on. These are stories of God’s help, stories of God doing exactly what he promised to do if we would only ask. Why is it then that we don’t ask? Why are we so proud as to not ask God for help? Why do we fail to see all of those times when we needed help and God very plainly gave it to us?

The biggest story is the one that all of us, if we call ourselves Christians, have gone through time and time again, most of the time simply taking God’s help for granted as though if we ask for his help he is duty bound to give it to us. This help comes in the form of confession and forgiveness. It starts off with us realizing how sinful we really are and how much we need Jesus in our lives. This realization may come about in a way that can’t be missed, when a loved one reprimands us or shows their disapproval of the sins we have committed. It may come in the gentle whisper or the loud shout of our conscience convicting us of that sin we keep doing even though no one else even knows about it. Whatever it might be, that realization of sin is a gift from God in itself. For if we hadn’t known our sinfulness we wouldn’t have known our need for a Savior. Still God provides the law, written in His Word, and also written on our hearts to convict us and condemn us.

The second part is the forgiveness. This is the greatest gift of all. If it were not for forgiveness, a complete removal of sin from us by the suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the cross, we would be lost and condemned forever. I can’t think of anything more important to us than this forgiveness. I don’t know of anything more crucial in life and for life than the gift of forgiveness. The best part is, all we have to do is ask.

That is also the worst part. For in the sins of pride and self importance people are unwilling to ask for forgiveness. People would rather die forever in hell than face up their sinful lives, get down on their knees in humility, and ask the Lord for forgiveness. I hurt for these people. I yearn for these people to know the peace and joy that I know. I long for these people to, as the Lord says, “turn from their sins so that they may live.”

My prayer for you all who are reading this today is that you let go of your pride and your self importance. My prayer is that you realize your sin, your inability to get rid of that sin yourself, and your total dependence upon God for all things. My prayer is that you turn to your God in all humility and dependence and ask him for the forgiveness and peace that you so desperately need so that you may be saved and may live out your days on this earth in that peace that goes above and beyond all human understanding! God bless you and give you the will and the way to Him forever! Amen!