God helps at the right time. Modesty, trust, and openness guide us along the way. In a divine service for the departed the Chief Apostle illustrated what this means specifically.
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4: 16). This verse served as the basis for a divine service on 1 March 2026 in Freetown in Sierra Leone.
The message is clear: God wants to deliver all human beings from all evil—not only the living but also the dead. For suffering does not necessarily end with death.
Suffering that lingers
Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider listed specific forms of this spiritual suffering:
- lack of love: feeling unseen or unappreciated
- frustration: failed plans and unfulfilled wishes
- disappointment: hurts, wrongs, and betrayal
- remorse: mistakes that cannot be undone
- resentment: the desire for retribution
The way forward: listening, believing, and following
Salvation begins when a person hears God’s call, the Chief Apostle continued. But listening alone is not enough; it requires faith and the decision to follow the call.
More specifically, this means that one must acknowledge God’s authority, believe in Jesus Christ, to whom all power has been given, and submit to the law of Christ, namely, the commandment to love God above all else and our neighbour as ourselves.
Grace is the first and most important thing
Everyone has sinned, the Chief Apostle said. Sin separates us from God and cannot be made up for by good deeds; it must be forgiven. And forgiveness can only be found in Jesus Christ. In other words, no one can earn salvation—only God’s grace can save us.
Those who recognise this and come to God can be certain that He will welcome them in love, just as the father welcomed the prodigal son. God is faithful and trustworthy. He says what He will do, does what He says, and delivers definitively.
How God works
How does God help? Not in an abstract sense, but in a very concrete way:
- through baptism, which cleanses and admits into the church of Christ
- through baptism with the Spirit, the guarantee to eternal life
- through God’s word and Holy Communion, which prepares for the return of Christ
This applies to both the dead and the living. The living, however, continue to be exposed to temptations and adversity; repeatedly, they fall into sin and are likewise unable to free themselves from it by their own efforts.
The access to help and deliverance remains the same, the Chief Apostle explained: coming to God humbly. That means trusting in Him even without fully understanding, sharing His love with others, and striving for unity. And in the end, there is an invitation to recognise and acknowledge one’s own faults, to ask for God’s grace, and to rely on His help.
After all, God knows what we need better than we do ourselves.
Photos: NAC Sierra Leone
