I was driving through town the other day and passed by a local restaurant where the sign outside read, "Hel Wanted." Obviously, one of the letters had fallen off the sign leaving "Help Wanted" . . . well . . . wanting. Of course, my devious, comedic side couldn't let it go. I immediately added the impious "l" and laughed to myself as I considered the humor implicit in "Hell Wanted." But my laughter didn't last long. Once I realized how decidedly prophetic the sign really was, I found myself in a state of profound contemplation.
You see, I am like the Apostle Paul in Romans 7. I don't want to sin, but I cannot seem to stop myself. Moreover, there are good things that I want to do, but I don't seem to get around to them often enough. It's as if I have an unfortunate sign hanging around my neck that reads, "Hell Wanted." Using the titles of two popular rock-n-roll songs from the 1970s/80s, you might say that I too often use my free will to travel the "Highway to Hell" instead of the "Stairway to Heaven." When I allow the flesh to control me, I always choose the bad instead of the good, the profane instead of the sacred, and the wrong instead of the right. Do you ever feel this way? Of course you do!
So, what is the answer? Do we just give up, accept our sin, and live on fate? Although this is the path many choose, I want to offer another option...another "sign," as it were. What if you merely restored the "p"? That is, what if instead of "Hel Wanted" (or "Hell Wanted"), your sign read, "Help Wanted"? What if you used your free will, not to choose your own path unto destruction, but to submit consciously to the righteous course already laid out by Jesus Christ? What if you called out to God for--you guessed it--help? Psalm 121:2 says, "My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." If you believe the truth of this beautiful verse today, then "Hell hath no fury" in your life. Indeed, your life need not be one of constant struggle between Heaven and Hell; rather, it can be one of peace and joy as you submit to Heaven and Help!