When You Need Solutions

Have you ever been to a doctor who only tells you what you already know and gives no further solutions? I have. It's very frustrating. The whole point of reaching out for help is to find some solutions... not just acknowledging the problem, but actually finding a way out of it. 

I think the very nature of the word 'help' implies this. Help means, "I can't find an answer. I can't find a solution. I need someone to step in. I need a way out that I'm not seeing right now on my own. I need rescue." 

Help is a humbling word for a lot of people, though. For some it’s a word that can even invoke shame because they think they should have the answer and solution on their own to everything they face. Maybe they have even been taught that asking for help is frowned upon. "Only the weak ask for help" kind-of-thinking.

Hogwash.

Did you know that the very foundation of our Christianity includes us needing help? 

Yep. 

Though, many people have been taught that they must work their way to God by being a good person or being a member of a religious organization (striving in their own strength and righteousness). But that's not the real gospel. The real gospel tells us we (all of us in all humanity) are in a serious spiritual 'pickle' without God's help. We are in a desperate state of lostness because of our sin nature (which simply means none of us were born perfect, we all do wrong, we "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23.) that separates us from God. It's just the truth, friends. I know... it's hard for some people to admit, but we are not perfect. We need help. We need a Savior to scoop us out of our mess, clean us up and align us with our Heavenly Father. I'll say it again:

We need help.

***

What are your thoughts on this word? Help. Are you one who hates to ask for help? 

If so, I understand. Me, too. (I'm preaching to myself today!) I'd much rather suffer in silence with no solutions than reach out and get what I need. Ugh. 

It's complicated, right? You don't want to burden other people with it. You don't want to come across as the 'fool that couldn't get herself together.' Of course, none of that thinking is reasonable and most people who genuinely are there to help us aren't thinking those things at all about us! In fact, they are probably thinking the opposite! They are probably so glad we are stepping out to find some solutions. 

Or maybe you've tried to reach out but you didn't find what you needed (like me going to the doctor and they didn't have an answer for me) so you stopped your pursuit. You stopped looking for help. This doesn't mean you don't need help, it just means you need to reach out somewhere else.

What do you need help with today? 

Do you need forgiveness from God? Then ask Him. And guess what? He will forgive you through His Son's sacrifice for you on the cross. He can help you!

Do you need healing? Jesus is our Healer. And He's also given people medical insight and revelations that can help you.

Do you need peace in your mind? Search the scriptures that focus on the peace of God. Fill your mind with His thoughts. Replace your anxiety with God's peace. He can help you.

Maybe you need help in a more practical way like with your finances or your prodigal child? God is all ears. He's waiting for you to ask for help, lay down your burdens and let Him step in and do what only He can do in very complex, impossible situations. He can help you.

The question is: Will you ask?

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