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You know, one of the things I love about God is how strategic He is. At our church we have a declaration, “If we are in the right place, at the right time, with the right people, the right things will happen.” The foundation of that declaration is we believe it is God that strategically puts us in the right place, at the right time and with the right people so GOD things happen. 

This declaration reminds me of the story of Moses and Aaron. When God called Moses from the burning bush to go back to Egypt to set the Israelites free, Moses protested to God, saying he wasn’t the right person. In Exodus chapters 3 and 4, no matter what God said, Moses continued to protest. He said the people wouldn’t listen to him, Pharoah wouldn’t believe him and above all he wasn’t a good speaker. God tried to convince Moses he was could do the job because God was with him, but Moses couldn’t see it. So finally, God tells Moses, he will have Aaron, his brother, help him. Aaron was a good speaker and could speak for Moses. The thing I love about the story is it says even during this conversation with God, Aaron was already on his way. God knew and had already prepared Aaron. 

Exodus 4:13-14 (NLT), “But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.” Then the Lord became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you.”

Moses didn’t say, “God I will do this job if you will send me some help.” He just said, “I can’t do this job. I don’t have the right skills.” Can you relate? Sometimes we feel so inadequate for the job in front of us and we don’t think to ask for help. Asking for help doesn’t make us weak; it makes us stronger. 

Paul speaking to the people of Corinth says in 2 Corinthians 12:6-9 (NLT), “If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

When you are feeling inadequate or maybe just overwhelmed by life, this scripture tells you to remember you have strength in Christ. However sometimes, maybe, God is sending you another person, placed strategically for a specific time in your life to bring you help. You have to be willing to ask for the help or accept help when it is offered. In the story of Moses above, he accepted Aaron to be his helper and this working relationship went on for the rest of their lives.

I once had a time in my career when I was working on a multi-million-dollar project. This project had huge implications for the future of our company to be able to sell products outside the United States. I was the project manager responsible for the products at the site where I was located and a site in California. Our site Operations Director came to my office and asked me if I needed any help to ensure the project was completed on time. I told him, “No, I’m good.” He accepted my reply and left my office. After he left, this thought crossed my mind. What if God brought me help because He knew I would need it and I had just turned down that help. I realized my answer of being “good and needing no help” came from a place of pride. Pridefully, I had this handled. So, I swallowed my pride and went to the Operations Director’s office and told him that after I had thought about it, I could use some help and I appreciated his offer. The thing is, he didn’t just give me someone who didn’t have enough to do to help me. He gave me one of the strongest talents at the site. I’m not telling this story to pat myself on the back because I swallowed my pride. I’m telling this story because going back to the Operations Director was hard for me, but I know in the end it enabled me and those on my team to be successful. Just like Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:6-9. God may at times test our motives, like pride, and we may need to become weak so He can become strong in our weakness.

The other part of 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “My grace is all you need.” One of my favorite definitions of grace is undeserved or unmerited favor from God. Another way of reading this scripture is “The undeserved favor of God is all you need.” So, if we go back to being in the right place at the right time with the right people, God can give us undeserved favor with individuals He places in our lives. It just may be that just the person you need is there to help you. You just have to be willing to ask for the help or as in my case accept the help. Don’t be afraid to ask that person that seems above your reach. If they are showing you favor, that just may be the favor of God on display through them. Allow God to bless you through others.

God made each of us with unique gifts and talents. When you are lacking a skill or talent, ask God to bring someone into your life that has that gift. Your life will be richer because of the people God has placed there. My mother-in-law was someone God brought to me to share her unique talents. I wrote this in my journal a few days after God took her home to Glory. 

“Oh Lord, as days go by, I see your ever-present hand in my life. You move people in and out of my life and each one is so unique. An aspect of you I may only glimpse through them. How precious you are. Help me by Your Spirit to keep on your path. May I see and hear every glimmer and hush of You. So small, yet so impacting – it changes me. I know you are with me and you care about the details.” 

God does care about the details, and He wants you to know it is OK to ask for help. In fact, He most likely has strategically planned for you to do so.

Diana is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Integrated Purpose Management (IPM) LLC, a family owned and operated company. IPM enables you to realize your integrated purpose by providing business management expertise to grow your business, professional coaching to elevate you to your full potential and understanding in communication intelligences to cultivate your professional and personal relationships.

Diana hosts a podcast called The Integrated Life where she encourages her listeners to have a life where they integrate their faith, family and work so they can become whole again. She has a bachelor of science degree in Biology with minor in Chemistry from the University of North Texas and an Executive MBA from Texas A&M, Mays Business School. Diana has over thirty years of experience in the medical device industry with 30 of those years spent at Abbott. She has served in the areas of project/program management, research and development, global quality assurance, regulatory affairs/compliance and executive management.

Diana is a certified Communication IQ^TM consultant for Life Languages International^TM. Diana is a member of the 4word Women Advisory Board and is a servant leader at Elevate Life Church. She is married and has one daughter.

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