Helpless

It's another one of those words that no one likes. Another state of being that no one enjoys. It's a phrase with endless euphemisms.

For example, "As helpless as......

• a newborn baby
• a cat in a trap
• a corpse
• an infant caterpillar in a nest full of ants
• a turtle on its back
• a lame beggar
• a King of England (rofl)

You get the point, and you don't like being there anymore than I do. Even so, we are forced back into that position time and time again. It happened to me twice in the simple course of today. Therefore, I was forced to ask the question of what to do when I feel totally helpless. In some attempt to answer this question, I found myself in Isaiah 41. Many of you will know this as the "fear not" passage of Isaiah, but I found something interesting in it.

In verses 8-13 (ESV by the way), God gives an awesome encouragement to Israel. He says, "But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, 'You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off'; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not, I am the one who helps you.'"

It's some good stuff. He continues on with similar themes through verse 20, but not without an interesting statement in verse 14, where He says, "Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel." Maybe it's just my short attention span (then again, you probably saw it too), but my eyes stopped and nearly got fixated on "worm". I was like, "Worm? Where the heck did that come from?" In so many other places, when God tells us to trust Him or to not be afraid, He'll say, "My child" or "My beloved" or something else. Worm just sounds so negative; almost derogatory. I kind of felt insulted the first time I read it (even though I don't believe in replacement theology).

Worms are ugly.

Worms are dirty (Literally. They live in the ground.).

Worms are stupid.

Worms are basically blind.

Worms are slow.

Worms are those grimy little things that we don't feel bad about stepping on after it rains because they're so gross and so easy to kill.

So, why on earth would God compare us to such a pitiful, wretched and unlikable creepy crawler?

Because, in comparison to Him, that's what we are. We are all of those things.

Ugly.

Dirty.

Stupid.

Blind.

Gross.

Fragile.

Because of our depravity, God probably has a lower view of us than we ever had of those nasty earthworms and parasites. Let's be honest, God has never EVER been the type to pull punches (it's all over the bible). If anything, this is exactly the kind of reminder that we would need to learn to rely on God's strength.

The saddest part of it all is that we all rely on His strength every single day and don't even realize it. Who provides us with food to eat, clothes on our bodies and places to stay? Who keeps us safe from harm and Satanic attack far beyond what we can bear? Who keeps the blood flowing through our veins, the oxygen in the air breathable, and the DNA in our cells stable even when we ignore His voice and sin against Him?

The same Jesus Christ who died for the despicable worms called human beings that pridefully walk this earth and deny the existence of their creator. The very same Jesus who proclaims that today is the day of salvation and who offers cleansing from unrighteousness when we confess our sins to Him. The very same Jesus who is the centerpiece and cornerstone of the entire Bible. The very same Jesus who promises to finish the work that He started in each of us who believe in Him.

Amazing, isn't it?

In Philippians 4:11-13, Paul talked about how he had gained peace in spite of his ever changing circumstances. Whether he was full or hungry, prospering or poverty stricken, and whatever else came his way. The secret to this was his reliance on the strength of the Lord, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." This, my friends, is the model that has been set for us all to follow. It's never easy to be stuck in a situation where you feel as though your life is totally out of control, but it's times like those that God reminds us that we were never in control to begin with.

-Jason Clarke

Bassist of Generic Music Group