Does God Help Those Who Help Themselves?

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Perhaps you've heard it said that God helps those who help themselves, which is perhaps the most quoted verse not found in the

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Bible. Well, I believe the phrase from the

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Bible is the Lord helps those who help themselves. This is really an example of God helps those who help themselves.

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God gave us everything for us to do things for ourselves. God helps those who help themselves.

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The quote is sometimes said to be Benjamin Franklin's written in poor Richard's almanac, but an earlier appearance shows up in 1698 in an article entitled

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Discourses Concerning Government by Algernon Sidney. That's just a bonus fact for you. God helps those who help themselves is not found anywhere in Scripture.

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Just because it's not in the Bible does that mean it's completely wrong? I don't think so. Yes, it's wrong.

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The Bible actually instructs us to rely fully on the Lord and not on ourselves. Proverbs 3 5 says trust in the

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Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 28 26 says whoever trusts in his own mind trusts in a fool and Jeremiah 17 5 says cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength whose heart turns away from the

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Lord. Jesus said if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

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In Isaiah 66 2 the Lord says this is the one to whom I will look he who is humble and contrite in spirit and who trembles at my word.

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So God does not help those who help themselves. He comes to those who humble themselves and trust what he has said in his word when we understand the text.