Tying God’s hands

July 11, 2006

By Gary Rogers

Have you ever wanted to help someone but felt your hands were tied?

A person you care for is fighting a terrible disease, and you want to do something to help. Someone is dealing with a financial difficulty, and you’d love to have the money to pay their bills and get them out from under that burden. A couple’s marriage is in a downward spiral, and you long for just the right words to help keep them together. A new convert can’t seem to get victory over personal weaknesses, and you want to be with them 24/7 to guide and encourage and strengthen their commitment to Christ.

God sometimes faces the same challenge, but for different reasons. He truly can bring healing to the disease, meet the financial need, restore the marriage, and provide guidance, strength, and commitment 24/7. But there is something that can keep God from intervening in our lives and being the source of help we need.

“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1,2, NKJV).

It is not that God cannot save us out of our difficulty. It is not that God does not have the ability to hear us when we cry out to Him. But whenever we allow sin to take root in our lives, God removes himself and is hidden from us so our cry is not heard. Sin separates us from God.

All of us need forgiveness of sin. All of us are human. Our humanity causes us to have attitudes, thoughts, preoccupations, desires and even omitted activities that all equal sin. What we need is a means by which our sin can be removed and we can have an open channel of communication to God.

What we need is a source of forgiveness by which we can be cleansed of all our mistakes and be holy and acceptable in God’s eyes. The answer is the blood of Jesus. The answer is found in confessing our sin and asking for forgiveness.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

When we confess our sins we remove the barrier between us and God. This allows Him to give us the help He wants to give. This doesn’t mean we will never face another sickness, relationship struggle or personal temptation. But whatever comes our way, we can be sure our Savior is there with us to bring us through.

Gary Rogers is senior pastor of First Assembly of God in Coweta, Okla.