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Believing God is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine

Giving up Self-sufficiency

April 17, 2014 By Phil Ressler Leave a Comment

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Maundy Thursday

Scripture Verses

  • Matthew 26:14–75

Questions to Consider

  • Why do we have difficulty asking for help?
  • What is wrong with not asking for help?
  • What is the proper way to ask for help? From others? From God?
  • How does God offer us help?

Plan of Action

  • Ask for help.
  • Find a prayer partner. Ask them to pray for you personally. Share with them things you are personally struggling with.
  • Participate with God’s family in Maundy Thursday Worship.

Reflection

Today is Maundy Thursday. It was on this day that Jesus shared the Last Supper with his disciples. This was an extremely difficult day for Jesus. Everything was coming to a head. He was betrayed by Judas, abandoned by the disciples, arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, denied by Peter, and put on trial before the religious leaders.

In agony he prayed that night, “Father, take this cup of suffering from me.” As he prayed his sweat became drops of blood. The weight of the world was bearing down on him. It was a cry of distress.

There are times when it seems the weight of the world comes crashing down on us. Other times we may not feel such tremendous weight, but at any given time we are bearing certain hurts, struggles, and trials we are going through. Yet many times we play a game and pretend that everything is okay. We are asked how we are doing and we responded by saying: “good.” We want to present the perfect “Christmas card picture” with the happy family where life is great.

As a pastor I will often ask people how I can pray for them. Most often the response I get is a request to pray for friends and family members. Their brother is sick, their co-worker lost their mother, or a friend is going through a divorce. It was much rarer for someone to actually request prayer for themselves.

We take the attitude that I’m okay and you’re okay. But the truth is that not everything is okay. We have difficulty asking for help. We pride ourselves in our self-sufficiency. We fear that by asking for help we are somehow less of a person. We fear being made into a “charity case.”

The truth is that we are all charity cases. The Biblical Greek word for grace is “charis” from which we get the word charity. Grace is charity and it is through grace that God helps us in our need. We have a sin problem and thanks be to God we receive our help through Jesus Christ.

It is time to give up self-sufficiency. Know that it is better than okay to ask for help. We need help. God gave us each other to help each other out. This design goes all the way back to Genesis. God first created man. The next person he created was woman. She was described as a helper. This is why God gives us other people. They are there to help us out.

It can be difficult to admit needing help, but I have found it extremely rewarding. Not only are other people more than willing to help, but oftentimes they begin to open up about how they need help. Being part of a supportive community is so much better than the masquerading community where everyone and everything is okay. It is a beautiful thing to be a part of a community where individuals are willing to make themselves vulnerable to ask for support and then to have such support offered and received.

Just to conclude, I want to say thanks to everyone who has helped me out! Love you all.

Next: Sorrow

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Filed Under: 40 Things for Lent, Blog Tagged With: 40 Things for Lent, Charity, Grace, Help, Self-sufficiency, Support

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