Help Wanted
By David Faust
I enjoy working in my yard, but I dislike scraping and staining the old deck attached to the back of our house. Last year I skipped those unpleasant tasks and let nature take its course. And nature wasn’t kind. My son-in-law gazed at the weathered boards and cracked concrete and said, “Dad, I’m surprised you would let your deck look like that.”
Appropriately shamed, I began making plans. “I can do the work myself,” I told my wife. She looked doubtful. “You’re not 30 years old anymore,” she reminded me, peppering me with questions. “Do you really know how to build a deck? Do you have the time? It could take you weeks to build it. And will your back hold up?”
I offered a few counterarguments, but common sense prevailed. We found a company that specializes in building decks, and four strong, young men quickly finished the job. At first, I refused outside assistance, but someone else’s help was exactly what I needed.
Receiving Care
“May I help you?” asks the salesperson in a store. “No thanks,” I usually respond. Back in the days before GPS, during road trips my family became irritated because I was too stubborn to stop and ask for directions.
A friend of mine has been caring for his wife, who struggles with complicated health problems. They are learning to accept help from others, but it hasn’t been an easy lesson. “In the past, we were the ones who visited the sick, not the ones being visited,” my friend observes. “It’s humbling to be on the receiving end of care.”
Something in the human spirit wants to push back, assert our independence, and prove we can handle things on our own. When Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, Peter refused at first and exclaimed, “No, you will never wash my feet!” On the surface his objection appeared humble, but in reality, pride was at work. Peter was acting like he knew better than Jesus did!
Remember Naaman, the Syrian military officer? He was accustomed to giving orders, but this situation was out of his control. Stricken with leprosy, he traveled to Israel, hoping the prophet Elisha could heal his ravaged body. For a while, though, pride got in the way. Elisha instructed him to dip seven times in the Jordan River. Offended and angry, Naaman sputtered something about “having better rivers back where I’m from.” Only when he humbled himself and lowered himself into the muddy Jordan did he come up clean.
Our Ever-Present Helper
We don’t like to admit it, but we all need help—and not just for temporal things like building a deck. We cannot fix this broken world or save our souls through our own human efforts. Spiritual do-it-yourselfers never succeed. Thankfully, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
Abraham was a wealthy and capable man, but he learned to rely on the Lord instead of his own abilities and cleverness. He “was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God” (Romans 4:20). Just as it would be foolish for a drowning swimmer to refuse a lifeguard’s help, it makes no sense for us to reject the aid of our gracious God. Faith moves us to humble ourselves and tell the Lord, “I need—and I want—your help.”
Personal Challenge: Are you trying to be a spiritual do-it-yourselfer? Do you seek God’s help, or do you try to handle things on your own? Offer a prayer of confession, acknowledging your weaknesses. Affirm your reliance on the Lord and ask him to strengthen your faith.
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