Ask For Help

As I spent time reading my Bible this morning, I wrote down a list of questions that I had for Jesus. They were mainly about this season of my life and what He expects of me. At the end of that list, I wrote, “Please, help me Jesus”. I became increasingly aware of how much I needed Him to live the sort of life that He wants me to live. As I wrote that simple prayer, it dawned on me just how many times a day I ask the Lord to help me. In the moment, I began to condemn myself. I felt that it was somehow wrong that my constant prayer is asking Jesus for help. However, just as fast as I began to condemn myself, the Holy Spirit reminded me that this is what God wants us to do. He wants us to ask Him for His help. He wants us to come to Him (Matthew 11:28), because, truthfully, we can’t do much of anything without Him.

For the past couple of months, I’ve been praying that simple prayer. To tell you the truth, it’s the only prayer that I can muster up some days. I would wake up and be confronted with the reality of everything that’s on my plate, and I would whisper those four words, “Please, help me Jesus”. The amazing thing is that, in the moment, it really feels like nothing has changed. Sometimes, I pray that prayer, and I still feel weary, discouraged, and without help; however, as I continue on in my day, I feel God strengthening me. I feel Him assuring me that He is with me and He is for me. I feel Him reminding me that He hears my prayers and He will help me, because I asked Him to. I’ve realized that help is always available to us, it’s just that oftentimes, we are afraid to ask for it. We feel afraid to ask God for help because we fool ourselves into thinking that He will somehow be disappointed in us for struggling in an area. This was the case for me. But, God reminded me that if I don’t ask for His help, how can I expect to overcome what I’m facing? He reminded me that I don’t have to be ashamed to come to Him with my issues and the areas that I desperately need His help in. He welcomes it; He takes great delight in helping His children.

I encourage you today to ask Jesus for help. I think that sometimes we forget how kind Jesus is. He’s not waiting for us to come to Him so that He can condemn us for struggling; He wants to help us. He wants to help us do better and live our lives in a manner worthy of Him. Instead of condemning yourself for struggling in certain areas, go to Jesus for the help that you need. The Bible says that God is an ever-present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1). This means that He is always ready and able to help us. What are you struggling with today? Is it idolatry, prayerlessness, unforgiveness, fear, or even self-condemnation? I encourage you to ask Jesus for help. Take those things to Him. Write down a list if you have to. Sometimes, we make things more difficult than they have to be. We worry and stress over areas in our lives that we struggle in, when it really is as simple as asking God for help. It really is that simple. We all have areas of our lives that we need help in. Instead of trying to figure things out on our own, let’s turn to Jesus, our ever-present help in times of trouble.