The Helping Hand

“For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.” -Ecclesiastes 4:10

This weekend, Lindsey and I had the chance to spend time with family and friends in Tennessee. We had an awesome time, but let’s be honest…the best part of the weekend was watching the Vols beat NC State. Just kidding. Everything about our weekend was great, but as I was watching the Tennessee vs. NC State game, something caught my eye. It was the fourth quarter and Tyler Bray (Vols QB #8) was leading his team to victory. As I was watching my team on their way to a 1-0 start since the Good Lord knows when, Tyler Bray drops back to pass the ball. He sets back in the pocket and throws a short bullet to one of his receivers. The receiver catches the ball and turns around to start running, but when the receiver turned around, there was a linebacker on his way to take the receiver’s head off. The receiver ends up dodging the linebacker, but loses his balance. The awesome thing is what happens next. Dallas Thomas, one of our offensive lineman (who stands at a good 6’5 310 lbs) runs toward his receiver, as he is losing his balance, CATCHES his teammate, PICKS him up, and the receiver ran for the first down. WOW!

Now, it was probably better to see it than to read it, because I am somewhat bad at telling stories, because I like to tell every small detail. I guess that’s just the OCD in me. When I saw that, I was blown away by his heart to help his teammate as he was falling. I mean, it blew my mind. We all need those people in our lives that will pick us when we fall. It could be a father, a mother, a pastor, a youth pastor, a mentor, a wife, or even just a friend, but God really began to deal with my heart when I saw that lineman run towards his teammate and pick him up before he fell. You know, I am so thankful for my wife. I am not going to lie, I love my wife. A lot. She has always been there for me when I was weak. She has always been my strength when I was down and having a bad day…or week…or year. Today, as I was packing up my stuff before we left TN, I just sat there and my wife looked at me and simply said, “are you okay?” I looked at her and softly said “no.” Then, I fell to my knees and began to weep. In that moment, everything I have been praying about, everything I have dealt with, whether it was a past or current issue, it all began to weigh on me. I am a person that when the Holy Spirit deals with me or hits me hard, then I weep. As I fell to my knees today, I felt like I had so much weight on my shoulders, but my wife simply comes up behind me and puts her arms around me. I felt like she was taking on burdens with me and I felt like God was making us a more powerful team for His Kingdom purpose. 

Let me say it again. We all need a teammate to help pick us up. Just as that offensive lineman picked up his fellow teammate as his teammate was falling, we not only need teammates, but we need God more than we know. God will give us promises, but it is our responsibility to BELIEVE. 

Look at the life of Moses. He could have never made it through the Egypt, the Red Sea, or the wilderness without God. Every time he, or the people of Israel had a need, Moses went straight to God with his problems. He didn’t go to Facebook, or Twitter, or call his buddies to tell how mean Pharaoh was. He knew God spoke to him and he believed what God said. What made Moses so great was not the fact that he was a good man, but that he was obedient. 

It’s time we go to God with our problems, begin trusting Him to supply all of our needs, and ask for wise counsel from the ones that are around us. I know for me, I need God, my wife, my family, my friends, and my mentors in my life. Don’t be afraid to admit that you need help. Sometimes we think the definition of “being a man” is all about how many weights we can lift, how early we get up, how many trees we have cut down in our lifetime, and how many cups of coffee we can drink in a day. Jesus was publicly humiliated on a cross…and to make matters worse, Scripture says that He was crucified naked. But Jesus did this so that we can be free of our struggles and pains

You can ask God to show you that He is real, but maybe it’s time that we simply believe what God said is true, just because He said it. Believe God and surround yourself with people today that will pick you up when you are down and I promise, you will come out victorious at the end of the day.