Self-Help or His-Help

 Dear Reader, 

I received this text message from an amazing worship leader, Rick Pino:

Rick Pino - Daily Text Messages

I've been learning how important it is to take time to invest in you, and no, investing doesn’t only mean $$$$.

In the above image from my text messages, Rick Pino said something that got me to think rather deeply on the matter. Did you catch it? If you haven't let me direct your attention to "That's why you need to get in agreement with what God has already said!"

A lot of people talk about self-this, self-that, self, self, self, self...

What I’m learning is that your best “self-help” is found in the living, breathing word of God. Reading scripture and allowing it to sit in your thoughts, and plant itself in your heart. In His word is where you find out who you are.

We strive so hard to find purpose, belonging, and some sort of calling. We do all sorts of things to achieve this, but it’s all right there in front of our faces.

I bet you're wondering to yourself how did he get "With God, all things are possible" Matt. 19:26 to then talking about self-help. Well, it is rather simple...apart from God, nothing is possible.

Now please understand something, I think self-help material is extremely helpful, it allows us the opportunity to evaluate ourselves. This evaluation can either make or break you (and in all honesty, I hope it does both for you) For years, I was a self-defeating person, so the idea of self-help was not an option. However, when I began a mentorship program a few years ago, this was part of it. Reading material from entrepreneurial leaders, listening to successful businessmen, on how they began changing their mindsets. Two books that have helped me a ton "The Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Peal and "What To Say When You Talk To Yourself" by Shad Helmstetter.

Out of the many books we were asked to read those two stuck with me, in fact, I still either quote them or the principles they discussed. It was here that my journey into digging deeper and analyzing what I was reading began. It was here where my life began to make a change and my heart opened up, to hear from God Himself. It was one of the catalysts that allowed me to become the man I am today.

Getting back to what I was saying. The word of God has all the answers, I know I for sure don't have them all. So how could I, helping myself, do me any good?

I began to realize that it is not about me, yes it is happening to me, but it most certainly isn't about me. I needed to get my eyes off myself.

Here is the best part...

I'm saying all this because the best self-help you can give yourself is the living breathing word of God. You need to get in agreement with what the text says. Just like I was doing with the self-help books but instead, His-help, is what causes a real change to happen.

I want to encourage you to seek the truth for yourself. Get in the word of God. Read it, don't think too much on it. Read it like you would a regular book, the answers to your questions will come. Find a version that works best for you. I found that to just read the word, The Message Bible worked best for me. Then to dig a bit deeper, The Amplified Bible

Some food for thought:

Matthew 7:7 "Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. (emphasis by me)

Osbert Maldonado