Have you ever heard a pastor or a person say: “In the Bible it says, ‘God helps those who help themselves?’” Then next time you hear someone repeat that axiom, let them know it isn’t in the Bible, unless you call Benjamin Franklin’s 1736 Poor Richard’s Almanac the Bible. Not only that, but even good ole Ben was quoting Algernon Sidney, an English political theorist who originated that saying earlier in 1698 in an article titled Discourses Concerning Government. And it may be that Sir Algernon took his inspiration from one or two of Aesop’s Fables which come from ancient Greece. But in reality, we could say the opposite is true when we look in God’s Word. Here’s how God is described in Isaiah: “You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.”¹ Also, the apostle Paul came to the same conclusion when he wrote: “Christ died for us when we were unable to help ourselves. We were living against God, but at just the right time Christ died for us.”² So in other words, when you hear a preacher say: “In the Bible it says, ‘God helps those who cannot help themselves,’” you can loudly say, “Amen!”