SELF HELP

SELF-HELP IS NO HELP AT ALL
Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.
Luke 9:23-27 MSG

WANT TO BE BEAUTIFUL? HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP YOURSELF IN THE RIGHT WAY
I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.
1 Timothy 2:8-10 The Message (MSG)

NEEDING NOTHING FROM ANYONE—LET’S SEE WHAT GOD THINKS ABOUT HAVING THAT KIND OF MINDSET…
“I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.
Revelation 3:15-17 MSG

LET GOD HELP YOU—SELF HELP IS A NAKED LIFE
“Here’s what I want you to do: Buy your gold from me, gold that’s been through the refiner’s fire. Then you’ll be rich. Buy your clothes from me, clothes designed in Heaven. You’ve gone around half-naked long enough. And buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see.
Revelation 3:18 MSG

THERE SHOULD BE LESS OF YOU
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
Matthew 5:3 MSG

IT DOESN’T SAY ‘DELIGHT IN HELPING YOURSELF’
Delight yourself in the Lord , And He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord ; Trust in Him also and He will do it. He will make your righteousness [your pursuit of right standing with God] like the light, And your judgment like [the shining of] the noonday [sun].
Psalms 37:4-6 AMP

DON’T TRY TO FIGURE THINGS OUT ON YOUR OWN, YOU NEED GOD’S HELP
Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all.
Proverbs 3: 5-12 MSG

DEPEND ON THE HOLY SPIRIT AND NOT ON YOUR OWN MENTAL OR EMOTIONAL FOOTWORK
I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.
1 Corinthians 2:3‭-‬5 MSG

IF THE OX AND MULE KNOWS IT, I HOPE YOU KNOW THE SAME!
The ox knows who’s boss, the mule knows the hand that feeds him…
Isaiah 1:2‭-‬4 MSG

GOD DID IT ALL ON HIS OWN—IT WASN’T SELF HELP THAT PICKED YOU UP IN LIFE
We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.
Ephesians 2:1-6 MSG

YOU CAN’T ‘MAKE’ OR ‘SAVE’ YOURSELF—ONLY GOD CAN DO BOTH
Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.
Ephesians 2:7-10 MSG

SELF RULE MAKES GOD VERY ANGRY
God is especially incensed against these “teachers” who live by lust, addicted to a filthy existence. They despise interference from true authority, preferring to indulge in self-rule. Insolent egotists, they don’t hesitate to speak evil against the most splendid of creatures. Even angels, their superiors in every way, wouldn’t think of throwing their weight around like that, trying to slander others before God.
2 Peter 2:10‭-‬11 MSG

PURSUE WHAT GOD WANTS
Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.
1 Peter 4:1‭-‬2 MSG

TAKE ALL THE HELP YOU CAN GET–YOU CAN’T HANDLE IT ON YOUR OWN
Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
Ephesians 6:13‭-‬18 MSG