“The acknowledgement of our weakness is the first step in repairing our loss.” –Thomas A Kempis
Once upon a time there was a brilliant young intern who was being pursued by a Fortune 500 company. She did a stellar job during her internship. The executives felt she would bring new perspective, energy, and excellence to the company. They agreed that upon graduation she would come work for them. Everyone was elated.
Once the job began she was presented with two significant projects. Her supervisors explained they were there to help ANYTIME, would meet with her weekly for updates and to offer assistance, but they also didn’t micromanage so if she had questions, she needed to ask for help.
She felt honored but knew it was a huge responsibility. Being a person of high integrity, she wanted to do her very best.
The problem came when she associated her very best with NEVER asking for help.
During her weekly 1:1s she stated she had it all under control and things were progressing nicely.
However, the day before the presentation was due, she sat weeping behind closed doors because she knew that her unwillingness to ask for help was getting ready to be costly, both for her and for the company.
It was in that moment of weakness she approached her supervisor and asked for help.
Her supervisor offered great understanding and while he coached her against that in future situations, he “had her back.” Together they worked diligently so that the presentation was at the highest quality possible for the circumstances. (It went fine).
Her supervisor exercised great wisdom, patience, and grace in the moment of crisis; taking a failure and turning it into a positive moment.
God is like that supervisor. It is just unfortunate that sometimes we forget to make that ask of God.
When we confess to God that we do NOT have it all figured out and that we need HELP . . . the grace of God works on our failures like jujitsu, a weaponless martial art that turns the force of the attacker back on the attacker.[1]
God uses ALL of our weakness and our failures for good, if we only allow it.
To allow it – means we have to let go. We can do this by calling out, “Help!”
Matthew 7:7-11The Message (MSG)
7-11 “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?
Thoughts to ponder:
- Have you ever thought, “I can’t pray and ask God for help on this because it is so silly. Lots of other people have way bigger needs than I do, so I can’t share this need.”
- What if we change our understanding to know that there is NO ASK FOR HELP too big or too small.
- What are some things you need to quit clinging to and need to offer to God?
- “God . . . help me . . . “
[1] McLaren, Brian. Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words (p. 103). Harper Collins.