On Asking For Help

(All Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation of the Holy Bible, copyright 2013.)

So, asking for help has never been something I’ve felt comfortable doing. It’s not that….well, at least occasionally, maybe it is pride and me thinking, “Those who ask for help are weaklings!” But I’ll say that usually it’s fear that keeps me from asking for help, not pride.

You see, I’ve always been rejected before when I asked for help; it’s never been anything close to a positive experience. But recently I needed help getting groceries, so I reached out to a friend and shared what was going on. She and her husband immediately got me what I needed, which was amazing and helped me feel loved…as well as provided for.

This brings up multiple theological thoughts into my mind.

In Matthew 6:25-34 and 10:28-31, Jesus teaches that God cares about sparrows and wildflowers, the grasses of the fields and little birds of the air, providing for all their needs. Jesus said that we are more valuable to him than they are, surely he will provide for us even more than he provides for Nature. We can just trust him.

In Matthew 6:33, he said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and [our Heavenly Father] will give you everything you need.” And in Matthew 22:36-40, when asked what the greatest and most important commandment in the Old Testament was, Jesus said that loving God with everything you have and are is the greatest of them all, but loving others the way you love yourself is the second most important ever. In Matthew 7:12, Jesus words the second most important command in a slightly different way: “Do to other whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.”

I once heard or read somewhere that when we don’t ask for help or accept love from others, we are preventing them from obeying these commands. That’s a rather sobering thought, especially when we keep in mind that Jesus said that whoever causes someone to stumble and sin deserves to have a giant rock tied around their necks and be thrown into the sea (Matthew 18:6).

Jesus never promised that this world would be free from troubles and trials (John 16:33), but he did promise that he would be with us, encouraging us to have courage (Matthew 28:20b, Joshua 1:9).

So maybe we need to be brave, and lay our pride down on the ground before it destroys us (Proverbs 11:2, 16:18, 29:23), and ask for help when we need it.

Maybe this is part of how to seek God’s Kingdom first. By being loved by God and others, and loving others the way we need to love ourselves. And I admit that this is hard and frightening; I would really rather do it all on my own and not have to rely on anyone or anything. Y’know, stand all by myself, like a tree. Except that trees have this incredible ecosystem surrounding their roots, helping them be healthy and strong. And trees in forests have this vast system of support, with many kinds of trees needing each other in order to survive and not fall. So perhaps we should learn a lesson from trees and rely on each other. I know from experience how horrible it is to fall alone (Ecclesiastes 4:10).

The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

Proverbs 11:25