Nougat 30

Sometimes, it takes multiple readings to catch nuances in the biblical text. In the previous Nougat, we noted that God’s Spirit is our Helper, and most often, we connect the help with our prayer life. But when we carefully read Today’s Holy Nougat, we note there is more …

Please read with me

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”

Help in our Weakness

Our Nougat offers an assurance of help in our weakness … which in the Greek actually suggests that God’s Spirit takes our hands, takes a share (interest) in, or comes to our aid. In fact, HELPS’ Word-studies takes it a bit further, suggesting that the help is an initiative of God’s Spirit. Thus, we realize that helping us is a reflex action of God’s Spirit. It comes naturally.

Given that as humans we are finite, weakness is natural. Our frailty could be about sickness or infirmity, as well as it speaks to lack of strength to overcome. Implicit in this, then, is the understanding that our weaknesses refer to our human vulnerabilities that would challenge our devotion to God. ‘Besetting’ sins, the sins that we find ourselves returning to time and again, are thus the specialisation of God’s Spirit. In such cases, I believe that God’s Spirit intercedes on our behalf, even when we aren’t fully committed to walking away from the sin.

Moreover, we may find that in helping us in our weakness, God’s Spirit takes us away from the temptation. In some instances – perhaps when we appeal for help – God’s Spirit may take the initiative to remove the power the temptation has over us to protect us from ourselves.

So here’s the question we must ask ourselves, what are our frailties that require divine intervention? This is followed by a very critical question: Do we desire help to overcome? If yes, let’s give God’s Spirit total control.

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May all we seek be found in Christ