Over the years I received many phone calls that went something like this: “Pastor, I’m having trouble finding a passage in the Bible. I know it is in there, but I just can’t find it. Can you tell me where in the Bible it says, ‘God helps those who help themselves’?”

Do any of you know the answer? People are usually shocked when I tell them it is not in there. A nationwide poll by Barna Research Institute found that 82% of Americans believed that phrase is a direct quote from the Bible. (George Barna, 1996) It is not. It has been attributed to many sources, one of which is Aesop’s Fables. The story goes something like this:

“A man is driving a wagon with a heavy load along a very muddy road. He came to a part of the road where the wheels sank half-way into the mire, and the more the horses pulled, the deeper the wheels sank. So the man threw down his whip, and knelt down and prayed to Hercules: ‘O Hercules, help me in this my hour of distress.” But Hercules appeared to him, and said: ‘Man, don’t just sit there praying. Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel. The gods help them that help themselves.'”

Now, there is an element of truth in that. You can’t just sit around and expect God to miraculously do everything for you. That is kind of what the Apostle Paul once wrote to a group of people with a lay-back-and-let-God-do-it-all attitude.

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12  For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.

In other words, “Put your shoulder to the wheel. God isn’t pleased with laziness.” In that sense, Paul is saying, “God helps those who help themselves.” But that’s different from what most of us mean by that phrase. What most people mean when they say “God helps those who help themselves” is that God expects us to be self-reliant: do your best, be your own person, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, only call upon God when you absolutely need him.

Is that how you live your life? Lots of people do. More importantly, is that what you believe God really wants you to do? If you answered yes to either of those questions, then you need to know something. God says again and again in the Bible that He’s not interested in helping those who are self-reliant. God wants to help those who rely on Him instead of themselves.

Isaiah 40:29-31   He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. 

Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. 

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. 

The ones who wait on the Lord, the ones who trust in His power, the ones who hope in Him – they are the ones who receive God’s help. A very important lesson that God wants all of you to learn is to rely on His power instead of our own. That’s a hard lesson to learn. I struggle with it everyday. It’s so easy to convince myself that “It’s all up to me – family, church, personal life. Everything depends on my ability to get it done.” When I fall into that trap, when I get into that mode, do you know what God does? He says, “Go ahead. Try it on your own. See how far you get.”

Let me make something clear: As far as your forgiveness is concerned, you have nothing to offer, nothing to contribute. You cannot help God; you do not assist Him in even the smallest way. Jesus took care of all that for you. God is the one who accomplished your forgiveness and salvation all by Himself. After you come to faith, as you strive to live the new life, you do have a responsibility to live a certain way. Yet even that is not your own doing. It is dependent on God’s power. God doesn’t help those who help themselves. He helps those who are helpless. He helps those who come to Him for mercy. He helps those who depend on Him. He helps those who cannot do it on their own, which is all of us.