Give God the Credit

Jul. 11, 2018 | By Creflo Dollar

Everyone faces adversity at one time or another, and even the best, the bravest, and the strongest of us sometimes need help on our Christian walk. There will always be challenges too much for us to handle on our own, and the wise person acknowledges the difference God makes in anything we do. We can all remember times when we struggled along by ourselves but accomplished absolutely nothing, then asked God for His help and experienced a powerful turnaround independently of our efforts. At times like these, all we can do is to give Him the credit.

The world’s phrase “No man is an island” refers to our inability to exist in a vacuum. We weren’t put on earth to function solo; God created us with a built-in need to depend on Him to live successfully. Sometimes we need to be saved from our own self-efforts and reminded of who is ultimately responsible for all the good things that happen.“This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:23). We don’t have to struggle when we accept His help.

The world teaches self-sufficiency and tells us that we’re the ones to “make it happen.” If we fall for this type of thinking, we can start believing that we are our own little mini-gods running our own lives. In the Old Testament, when the people faced adversaries who were mightier than them, God blessed His people with things they weren’t strong enough to claim for themselves through their own abilities. “And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat” (Joshua 24:13). It’s naive to think that we’re our own source of everything in life.

If we’re not careful we can slip into self-centeredness, which is the wrong way of thinking. When we’re in the center we see ourselves, and only ourselves, and God is out of the picture. In this state of mind we can make decisions based on our own limited knowledge and think it’s the right choice, only to find out later we made a mistake.“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). God never abandons us, however, and always rescues us from whatever mess we’ve gotten ourselves into.

The world doesn’t know Christ, and it glorifies people who admit that they propelled themselves to success. It follows the motto, “God helps those who help themselves,” but this is nowhere to be found in the Bible. When we can’t even help ourselves, God is waiting to lend a hand. “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber” (Psalm 121:2, 3, NLT). Leaning on Him and acknowledging we need Him daily is not a weakness, but a strength.

The next time we run into a situation we can’t handle, we can be encouraged in the knowledge that we don’t have to rely on ourselves—in fact, we’re not expected to. This takes undue pressure off of us and allows God to work in His supernatural abilities on our behalf. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). With Him as our unseen partner, we’re bound to succeed.

The Battlefields of Life

By Taffi Dollar

Read more

Help, I'm Afraid to Give Pt. 5 Part 1-2

Help, I'm Afraid to Give Pt. 5 Part 1-2

Read more