Do You Ask for Help?

We live in a society where men are often afraid to ask for help. It is a long standing joke that men are incapable of even stoping to ask for directions. Yesterday I met with a veteran. At the end of our time together, he thanked me for the time spent with him and said, “I was sitting outside the Veteran Service Center for over an hour, I am so glad I decided to come in. I could have never have gotten this help sitting outside.”

The struggle is even harder for us war veterans to cry out for help. The good news is that we are not alone. There is a source of help waiting for us when we cry out. The Bible attests that God comes to those who cry out for help!

“I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit;

you heard my plea, Do not close your ear to my cry for help!

You came near when I called on you; you said, Do not fear!’ - Lamentations 3:55-57

There are two truths that this passage teaches us: God hears our cries! And because of that, we do not have to be afraid! Man, soak in that thought for a moment. The supreme being of the universe, the maker of heaven and earth…God Himself is telling us to come to Him because He is the one that hears our cries and will not let us down. That is beautiful. As we hurt, we can begin to heal our pain by crying out and giving our affliction, tears, and anger at the foot of the cross. We don’t have to put our pain on the back shelf or even bury it deep. Instead, we can dig down deep to understand it and cling to God’s promise that He hears us when we weep and bottles every tear.