He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.
Psalm 40:2

Read: Jeremiah 38:1-13, Psalm 40:1-3
Pilgrim’s Progress Stage 1 Part 9

Relate: Just when Christian is about to go under for what feels like the last time, a hand reaches down. A figure named Help appears at the edge of the Slough and pulls Christian out. No lecture. No judgment or condemnation. Just a hand, and a pull, and solid ground under Christian’s feet again. Help asks Christian why he didn’t use the steps that were placed in the Slough, and Christian admits that fear had so overwhelmed him that he didn’t even notice them. And then Help sends him on his way. The help was given. The journey continues. That’s it.

Help is not glamorous. And I am not only talking about the character in Bunyan’s novel. That Help doesn’t get a lot of ink. Help is just someone who is there at the right moment. He does the necessary thing. And then he steps back out of the limelight. And then, unless I am mistaken, Help is not mentioned again for the entire rest of the story.

React: The help Help gives is not abstract or theoretical. It is the grip of a hand on a sinking arm. It is rescue at the moment of actual need. The point is not subtle. Grace is not an idea to be discussed. It is a rescue to be received. Receiving it requires something deeply uncomfortable for most of us. It requires letting someone reach down to where we actually are, not where we wish we were, and allowing ourselves to be pulled up from the mud.

There is something profoundly important in the fact that Help is waiting at the Slough. He is not sitting clean and comfortable at some safe distance. Help is not at the beginning of the road, where the travelers are still eager and excited. He is not a far distance down, when they have had a chance to get out and clean themselves up first. He is right there, at the worst of it. That is where God meets people. That is where we need to be to meet people. In my dark moments, God has placed some amazing people to help. Along whose path has God placed me to be the Help that helps?

Respond:

Dear God,
First and foremost, I want to thank You for the times You have placed people into my life at those times when I needed help the most. I thank you for all the quiet, practical ways people have stepped in and pulled me up when I felt I was drowning. Thank You, also, for the opportunities I have had to be that help to others. Help me to be aware of the needs, be they practical, emotional, or spiritual, of those around me. Help me to be a help to others when they feel like they are going under.
Amen