And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Galatians 6:9 (KJV)
We have learned that being obedient to God and following the guidance of the Holy Spirit is “doing good.” But in this chapter, I want to focus specifically on obeying God and doing good deeds by helping people who are in need.
The apostle Paul told the Galatians not to get tired of doing good (see Galatians 6:9). He instructed them to do good to all people as the occasion and opportunity opened up, especially to those of the household of faith (6:10). We should see helping other people in need as an opportunity to do good! It is an opportunity for us to bless others, and to also be blessed ourselves. People who are focused on helping others are happy people!
I sincerely believe that giving is rooted in trusting God. We do it because God has asked us to, and we believe His promise to meet our own financial needs. Doing good works does wonderful things for those who diligently practice them. Acts 20:35 (NIV) says, “…It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Giving of ourselves releases joy in our lives and enables us to be happy while we wait for God to meet our own needs. So if you’re wondering, “How can I be joyful when I have problems?” the answer is simple: Get your mind off yourself by focusing on doing something good for someone else. We do not have to focus on our problems all day long in order for God to give us answers. Tell Him what you want and need, and then trust Him to provide while you focus on doing good!
One of my favorite Scriptures is Acts 10:38. It says that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and “He went about doing good and, in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by [the power of] the devil…” (AMPC). We are taught to imitate His behavior and follow His example, and this is one of the best ways we can do that. The world is filled with people who are oppressed by the devil, and we are anointed by the Holy Spirit to help them just as Jesus was.
Every time we do good, we are sowing a seed that will release our own harvest. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you have too many problems of your own to help other people. All that does is keep you stuck in your problems indefinitely.
One weekend, when I was teaching on this very topic—trusting God and doing good—in one of my conferences, the power went out on the block the arena was in. It happened about an hour before the opening session, so we had to cancel it and watch thousands of people leave. The power came back on about ten minutes before the session would have been over. We had to wait and start the conference the next morning.
I had to trust God while I was trying to teach a conference on trusting God! In addition to what we were already dealing with, the arena management lit up the billboard outside with this message: “The Joyce Meyer conference has been canceled.” They thought they were helping, but they forgot to say it was only canceled that night and would start again the next morning. I had visions of being in that huge arena teaching to empty seats. I felt rather frantic in my soul but kept saying, “God, I put my trust in You,” and we ended up having a great conference.
During the teaching, I used a visual prop to help people better understand the principle of trusting God and doing good. Our construction crew created two medicine bottles that were approximately three feet tall. We put them on a table and labeled one “Trust God” and the other “Do Good.” The bottles also said that refills were unlimited and the patient could take them as often as needed. It is impossible to overdose on either one.
As I taught about how to handle trials and tribulations, problems and miseries of every kind, I said, “When symptoms come, immediately take a dose of ‘Trust God,’ quickly followed up with a dose of ‘Do Good.’” This example seemed to really help people understand that doing good things for others while trusting God to be good to us is the medicine we need for our souls.
The Word of God acts as medicine for our souls if we follow what it says. Medicine doesn’t help us unless we take it, and the Word of God doesn’t help us if we know it but don’t do it. For example, if you sin, you can do what people normally do and feel guilty and condemned, or you can take some “God forgive me” medicine and it will heal your soul. If someone has hurt or offended you, instead of being angry and upset you can take a healthy dose of “I forgive you” medicine and enjoy your day. If we look at God’s Word as medicine for our souls, we find help for all of the problems we face in life.
Let me say again that I believe trusting God and doing good is medicine for our souls, and I highly recommend that you take as much as you need, as often as you need it. I should warn you, though, that there are side effects! They are peace, joy, stability, confidence, and rewards in Heaven.
Doing a good deed can be as simple as giving a compliment or listening to someone who is hurting. It may also involve giving your time or finances to help someone in need.
The Bible is filled with Scriptures about helping the poor and needy and giving encouragement to those who are hurting. It actually says that we are to “seek” to do good deeds and acts of kindness. That means we look for ways to help others.
See that none of you repays another with evil for evil, but always aim to show kindness and seek to do good to one another and to everybody.
1 Thessalonians 5:15 (AMPC)
Do you want to be useful in this world and live with a satisfying purpose? Charles Dickens said, “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”4
God instructs us not only to help hurting people, but also to bless our enemies! Why should we do that? Because we overcome evil with good (see Romans 12:21). We have been given a secret weapon that works like a miracle when trouble comes, when people hurt us, or when we have personal needs—do good!
One of the first things we should do when someone hurts us or treats us unjustly is pray for them. How should we pray? Ask God to forgive them and to open their eyes so they can see how their behavior displeases Him. If they are not saved, then pray for their salvation. By doing this, you will release yourself from the misery of being angry with them and fretting over what they have done. You may not feel differently toward them right away, but it is very difficult to stay angry with someone you pray for regularly.
We should give ourselves to doing good deeds at all times, but there is a temptation to turn inward and stop reaching out when we are hurting. This is a big mistake. It is always important to do good, but it is especially important when you have problems of your own. Jesus was facing an unbelievably painful death, yet He continued being good to others by asking His Father to forgive those crucifying Him and by comforting the criminal being crucified with Him who asked for help (see Luke 23:32–43). I don’t know about you, but when I am having problems of my own, it is often difficult not to be grouchy with other people. However, I have learned over the years that this is the best time to practice being kind and doing good. When we have no problems, treating others kindly requires no discipline, but it does require a great deal of discipline to trust God and continue doing His will when we are hurting.
I love Psalm 37 and read it often. Verses 1–5 give us this wisdom: Don’t fret or be anxious and worried about those who do evil, because God will deal with them in His own timing. While you wait, trust in God and do good. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to Him and He will bring it to pass.
This is not just a group of Scriptures that we can read to make us feel good. They give instructions that we are to follow. When we do, not only will we end up with our needs met, but we can be a good example to people who don’t know God.
It is through doing good deeds that the world will recognize that we belong to God (see 1 Peter 2:12).
While every command from God is great and important, Jesus said that the greatest or most important of all is that we walk in love—we are to love God and love people as we love ourselves (see Matthew 22:36–39). He also said that it is by this love that the world will know that we are His disciples:
I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another.
By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves].
John 13:34–35 (AMPC)
We cannot discuss love without talking about doing good deeds, because that is how it is seen. Love is not just a theory or a teaching that makes a moving sermon; it is real and practical. Love can be seen and felt, and it has miracle-working power to change lives.
The world doubts our testimony simply because of all the division among us. If the church could ever unify, our testimony would be undeniable! Love finds a way to agree; it does not look for things to disagree about.
A family in agreement is powerful! Dave and I learned early in our ministry that we could not be successful and have strife in our hearts. We have diligently worked hard to keep it out of our lives and have seen firsthand the power that peace and unity bring.
Don’t participate in any strife in your family, home, neighborhood, church, or place of employment. It is honorable for a man to avoid strife and overlook offenses (see Proverbs 19:11). When we honor God by walking in His ways, He honors us openly in our lives.
Walking in love will require us to make choices daily that will help us live beyond our emotions. We cannot do everything we “feel” like doing and obey this commandment at the same time. I may not always “feel” like taking time to be kind to someone else, but each time I do, I am walking in love. Love is not a feeling we have, but a choice we make about how we will treat people.
One Scripture that helps me to keep walking in love is Matthew 7:12 (AMPC):
So then, whatever you desire that others would do to and for you, even so do also to and for them, for this is (sums up) the Law and the Prophets.
It is easy to see that if we always treat others the way we would like to be treated, our behavior will change. It is a simple instruction and one that we can apply to our daily lives. When a situation occurs that makes it difficult to treat someone well, just ask yourself, “What would I want this person to do for me if I was the one who needed mercy?”
Our days are often filled with minor irritations. We may be waiting for a certain parking place at the crowded mall and someone quickly pulls into the space before we can get there. Immediately we feel irritated and perhaps even outraged that they were so rude. We can yell or honk our horn, or do other ungodly things, but none of it makes us feel better, and it bring us down to their level. God will bless you in some way if you trust Him and keep doing good!
Start seeing all of these irritations and unplanned events as opportunities to show love instead of letting them make you angry.
We are given a wonderful definition of the behavior of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Please take time to look at each of these points and ask yourself if you need to grow in any of these areas:
• Love endures long and is patient and kind.
• Love is never envious nor boils over with jealousy.
• Love is not boastful or vainglorious and does not display itself haughtily.
• Love is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride).
• Love is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly.
• Love does not insist on its own rights or its own way for it is not self-seeking.
• Love is not touchy, fretful, or resentful.
• Love takes no account of the evil done to it and pays no attention a suffered wrong.
• Love does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
• Love bears up under anything and everything that comes.
• Love always believes the best of every person.
• Love never quits or gives up; it is always filled with hope, and endures everything without weakening.
• Love never fails.
The Bible has a great deal to say about helping the poor, and there are some wonderful promises made to those who help them. This is one of them:
He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and that which he has given He will repay to him.
Proverbs 19:17 (AMPC)
The apostle James said that “external religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts]… is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need…” (James 1:27 [AMPC]). True religion must always be expressed with outward acts, because real Christianity affects not only the heart of man, but also his behavior. God is a giver and anyone who has a relationship with Him will also want to give. The Holy Spirit is the Helper and anyone filled with the Holy Spirit will also be a helper.
It can be a healthy exercise to ask ourselves, “What am I doing to help someone else?” Can you think of the last person you helped? Of course, we usually help our families during our daily activities, or we give gifts at Christmas, but I’m talking about something beyond that. I’m talking about living to give. A joyous and meaningful life is not found in what we get but in what we give. How many people do we know who need help, and yet we have not even considered being the one to help them? When we start asking these difficult questions, we can find our answers to be disappointing. However, when I am disappointed in myself, I can always get “reappointed” and begin doing the right thing.
I want to encourage you to purposely help people in need. Look for them and find some way to help. It is easy to make an excuse and do nothing, but that is not the proper behavior for a Christian. Here are some of the excuses that I have made in the past or that I have heard others make:
• “I’m too busy.”
• “Their problems are their own fault.”
• “I have problems of my own.”
• “I don’t want to get involved.”
• “I don’t know what to do.”
Instead of finding reasons why we cannot help, why not aggressively look for ways that we can help? You might know someone with a need that you cannot meet alone, but perhaps you could be the one to organize a group of people to work together to help that person. The very least each of us should do is pray and ask God to reveal to us anything He would like us to do to help the people we know who are hurting and needy. Never forget that each time you do something kind for someone else, you also help yourself.
Recently, three women attended our conference and heard me speak about the need to help dig wells in third world countries where people have no access to water without traveling hours, and sometimes a day, to get it, and when they do, it is usually dirty and diseased. We have been privileged to provide seven hundred of these wells and have watched it change entire villages.
The three women wanted to do something, so they got twenty-one families together and had a huge garage sale. At the next conference they attended, they brought an offering of over two thousand dollars to help dig a well and build a church next to it. That way we provide natural water and the water of the Word, both of which bring life!
Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
Luke 6:38 (NKJV)
I don’t believe that our motive for giving should be to get something back. We should give because our desire is to help others, but God’s Word promises that when we do, it will come back multiplied in many ways.
Job made a very radical statement. He said that if he did not use his arm to help those in need, it might as well be broken from its socket (see Job 31:16–22).
The Scriptures I am speaking of have been very impactful in my own life, and I pray you will take time to read them several times before moving on. You and I have the power to relieve suffering, and we should not let any opportunity to do so pass us by. John Bunyan said, “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who cannot repay you.”5
It is amazing to think that we can make God smile, but Scripture says that we can. David prayed this prayer: “Smile on me, your servant; teach me the right way to live” (Psalm 119:135 [MSG]).
Each time you put a smile on someone else’s face, I think God smiles too!