Call for Help

I think this world thinks we have it all under control. We've been taught to hide weaknesses and we've also been told to hide our suffering, our emotions, hurt and pain. We must stop pretending we have it all together.

I love how Hillsong United puts it:

I found my life when I laid it down

When you surrender everything, every feeling and emotion you have, to Jesus, you find life and peace. It's out of your control now and in His hands. There's freedom in simply letting go.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus calls Peter to walk on water, and as soon as Peter was beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Peter had confidence in Jesus that he would save him in that instant and not let him fall.

And then this happened next:

"Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him."

When you call out for Jesus' help, He's got you.

Psalm 18:6

"In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears."

Psalm 120:1

"I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me."

Psalm 54:4

"Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me."

Hebrews 2:18

"Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." 

And I love how Psalm 46:1 beautifully states how God is an "ever-present" help.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."

I think we forget that we have an ultimate helper who we can call on at any moment. And we forget that He wants to help us. He desires us to have "great faith" when calling upon His name, knowing He is our true source of help.

Take a look at a passage in the book of Matthew, about a Canaanite woman's faith. She cried out to Jesus, and she knew He was the one, the only one, who could help and heal her.

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly." Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. He replied, "It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs." "Yes it is, Lord," she said. "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table." Then Jesus said to her, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed at that moment.

He understands exactly what you're going through. In fact, He's in the storm with you.

Meditate on Chris Tomlin's lyrics in "Jesus"

Who walks on the waters 

Who speaks to the sea 

Who stands in the fire beside me 

He roars like a lion 

He bled as the lamb 

He carries my healing in his hands 

Jesus

We can't do this on our own. Over the course of this year, I've learned how much Jesus truly gets each and every one of our situations. I would distance myself from God sometimes and tell Him that He just doesn't understand what I'm going through, that what I'm battling is too different for Him. He knows exactly how you feel in this moment. The temptation or struggle that you're battling right now isn't unfamiliar to Jesus. Talk to Him about it.

Hebrews 4:15

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.