You run to the armory for your weapons. You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool. You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls. Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the old pool. But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago. (Isaiah 22:8-11)
Read: Isaiah 22:1-24:23, Galatians 2:17-3:9, Psalm 60:1-12, Proverbs 23:15-16
Relate: I hate asking for help. I just hate it. I was raised in a culture and environment where hard work and self sufficiency were virtues. Men are men and they do whatever needs getting done and they don’t walk around with a hand out. They don’t whine about their lot. And they certainly don’t ever show that they are not able to do it on their own. Rugged individualism is the ideal every true American man strives for. This was taught as a child through cultural icons like Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. It is reinforced in contemporary culture with heroes on the big screen like Batman, Superman, and of course, Liam Neeson…
React: As much as part of me would like to think that this is a unique trait of American culture, it isn’t. All the way down through time, there were people who thought they could always do everything on their own with no help. A large majority of the time this is actually a good thing. God has gifted us with two hands, two feet, and a mind that should know when and how to use them. If they aren’t broken, they should be hard at work. However, we also need to know when and where we should seek help from others, especially from God.
I love helping people. This should be a good thing, but my eagerness to help others while never seeking help in return often stems from a pride that wants to prove I am more capable than those around me. It is sad how even my best actions so often stem from sinful motives. The Hebrews had an enemy threatening them in Isaiah’s day that they could never defeat on their own. Assyria was bigger, stronger, more numerous, more efficient, had better generals and weapons… Judah didn’t stand a chance. But still, they tried to fight this hopeless cause on their own. We’ll fix our own walls. We will build up our own water supply. We will tear down houses for supplies (and to create a better killing field against the enemy). All this planning and preparation was good and wise. But in the same breath they were saying, “We will not ask God for help. We’ve got this on our own.” How often is my own pride saying the exact same thing?
Respond:
Dear God,
I need You. Thank You for giving me a sharp mind, a healthy body, and a good work ethic. Thank You for making me capable in so many ways. But help me avoid the danger of thinking these are the only blessings You have given me. You have blessed me with friends and family and neighbors. Give me the humility to ask them for help when it is needed. Give me the vulnerability to be willing to admit that I cannot always do it on my own. Most of all, help me to recognize that I need You not just in my weaknesses, but in every moment of every day. I need You, God. For every breath and in every heartbeat, I need You.Let me never forget this most vital of truths.
Amen
THE RIVER WALK 
Amen 🙂 Speaking of asking for help, I reached out to my brother today for that. Not financially but because I needed an ear (not his actual ear it’s still attached lol) but yeah I have trouble expressing my feelings…unless I am writing. It’s been a long road to get to this point of allowing myself to be vulnerable in such a way. I sometimes even have trouble asking God for help and that should just be the easy and obvious thing to do. The saying “Practice what you preach” really speaks to me in this moment because that is exactly what I need to do more often so thank you for your post and reminding me that God is always with me and He’s on standby 24/7…all I have to do is ask 🙂
Amen 🙂 This post is a timely one for me as I have had the same struggles asking for help yet I am more than willing to extend the olive branch and love to do so. Today however I really did need help so I bit the bullet and I reached out to my brother. I needed an ear (not his actual ear…it’s still attached lol) I have trouble expressing my feelings although oddly enough not so much when I am writing. I live with bipolar disorder and so does my brother. He is the one person I can go to who truly understands my brain sometimes and I forget that my brother is like me and loves to help. I am glad I let my defenses down and accepted his help. It brings me closer to my family and closer to God. God is always ready to help us and sometimes we forget He’s right there waiting for us to ask. Thanks for the great post and reminding me that there is strength in asking for help not weakness 🙂
Reblogged this on ChristianBlessings and commented:
O Lord, For You, family and friends I thank You. Thank You I am rich in helpers whom You have provided me. Please help me know my limits and to call for help, especially to have Your Holy Spirit as the standard bearer in my life against the eneny. Amen.
The passage from Isaiah is very appropriate to our day, as it was 700 years before Christ.
As this month is the worst of the year for me, it’s no surprise that those I would count on would be long gone. It’s felt as if I have been alone, but I know the truth is I’m not. I hope you continue to do well.
This is me… Too independent minded a lot of the time.
Great post! Thank you! It is easier for some of us (including me) to help others than to ask for help. And it is false pride. Guilty. Thankfully, I do finally remember to go to God for help. May I learn that better.
And as men…If we see someone in need help… If they cross your path, it’s for a reason…not coincident, the Universal creator sent them on purpose.. the purpose is to check your heart…
I don’t share your religious beliefs, but I enjoyed your post regardless.
As someone who struggles as well with wanting to do everything on my own, I relate with this a lot. I feel that asking for help is a show of weakness. But sometimes in our human brokenness we just need a Savoir and a Father to lean on and trust with everything. Thanks for the great truth displayed in your post!
Amen.