Does God Need Our Help?

I delight to do Your will, O my God.
—-Psalm 40:8

“Why does God want us to partner with Him?” you may be wondering. “If God is all-powerful, why does He need us to fulfill His seek-and-save mission?”

Occasionally, when I am speaking about believers’ responsibility to share our faith, some pseudospiritual saint will say in his most condescending tone, “Now remember, Pastor, it is not up to us. It is up to God to do the work.”

Every time I hear that comment I am reminded of the story of the man who bought a rundown farm. The fields were overgrown with weeds, the fence was falling down, and paint was peeling off the barn. The farmer went to work. He plowed the fields, repaired the fence, and painted the barn. One day the local preacher stopped by to visit. “My, you and God have done a wonderful job with this farm!” the preacher remarked. The farmer, wiping sweat from his forehead, said, “Preacher, you should have seen this place when God had it all to Himself.”

No, God doesn’t need anyone or anything to achieve His plan. But He has chosen to give us the indescribable privilege of participating in the achievement of His grand redemptive plan for the universe.

Partnering with mankind for the achievement of a great purpose has always been God’s method of operation.

• God created the Garden of Eden but said to the first couple, “You cultivate it and keep it.”
• In the days preceding the Flood, God said to Noah, “I’m going to save you and a few others, but you need to build an ark.”
• To Nehemiah, God said, “I am going to change the king’s heart so that you may return to Jerusalem, but you build the wall around the city.”
• To Christians today God says, “I have sent My Son as the sacrifice for the sins of the world, but you go into all the world and proclaim the good news.”

No, God doesn’t need us to achieve His plan, but He has given us the indescribable privilege of being part of a global enterprise that gives meaning to our existence. God has left us here on earth to fulfill His purpose of adding as many people as possible to His kingdom.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “The Power of a Positive Purpose” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2016.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.