The Help They Needed

When God gave Lehi's family the guidance and help they needed through their experiences with the Ball, the Bow, and the Boat, He only gave them the help that they needed. They still had to do their part, up to the limit of their capabilities. God gave them directions, but they still had to physically follow those directions. Nephi had to make himself a new bow and go hunting himself, after God told him where to hunt. And  Nephi and his brothers had to build the boat themselves, with their only help from God being the information on how to build the ship and where to find the ore they needed to make the tools they needed to build the ship. In each case, the Lehites were expected to do everything they could do, and God's help merely made up for the limits of their capabilities.

And so it is with us. Often, God only gives us the help that we really need, expecting us to do our parts. God often requires us to everything we can, only lending direct aid in the areas where our limited abilities aren't enough. Granted, it could be said that He helps us do our part by lending us breath, providing us with food, and granting us the companionship of His Holy Spirit, among other things, but even with all God's help backing us, the work is still ours to do.

It has been said that when we are on the Lord's errand, we are entitled to His help, and that is certainly true, but in many cases, God is only going to help us, not do our work for us. God will give us all the help we need, but only that much. The rest of the work is up to us.