Do you know someone who is constantly
complaining that no one helps them? Perhaps addictions have taken over their
life or mental disorders plague them and they seem to have lost the motivation
to do anything for themselves.
I
think most of us remember the old song by the Beatles, “Help!”
The lyrics could describe someone in that position:
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being 'round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won't you please, please help me
And now my life has changed in oh so
many ways
My independence seems to vanish in the
haze
But every now and then I feel so insecure
I know that I just need you like I've never
done before
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being 'round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won't you please, please help me?*
These lyrics
remind me of a Bible story.
Later on there was a Jewish festival (feast) for which Jesus went
up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem a pool near the Sheep
Gate. This pool in the Hebrew is called Bethesda, having five porches (alcoves,
colonnades, doorways).
In these lay a great number of sick folk—some
blind, some crippled, and some paralyzed (shriveled up)—[a]waiting for the bubbling up of the water.
For an angel of the Lord went down at appointed
seasons into the pool and moved and stirred up the water; whoever then first,
after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was cured of whatever disease
with which he was afflicted.
There was a certain man there who had suffered
with a deep-seated and lingering disorder for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless],
knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him,
Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?]
The invalid answered, Sir, I have nobody when
the water is moving to put me into the pool; but while I am trying to come
[into it] myself, somebody else steps down ahead of me.
Jesus said to him, Get up! Pick up your bed
(sleeping pad) and walk!
Instantly the man became
well and recovered his strength and picked up his bed and walked. John
5:1-9 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Sometimes a broken mirror gives a fractured
reflection just as a broken heart reflects a distorted image. This man had laid
there for 38 years gazing into a distorted image reflected from the pool, an
image that confirmed to him that he had no power for living. He needed help! Gazing
into that pool heightened the deep-seated thoughts of helplessness within him.
The next thing you knew he was battling thoughts of anger and frustration that
no one would help him and people were getting in his way.
The first thing I note about these verses is,
"No one will help me." On the heels of that is "Someone gets in
my way." It is nearly impossible to help someone who is still in the
victim mode of behavior. I notice that Jesus didn't let the man get away with
excuses, He said, "Get up! Pick up your bed and walk!" He didn't say
"Let me help you up, let me do it for you," He put responsibility
upon the person that they be a part of the recovery process. Another
translation reads, "Rise up!"
The work of the Holy Spirit even before the
person is encouraged on a recovery walk can be a powerful thing. Some
people may need a miracle and that is where prayer and intercession come in. Blanket
that person who you know needs healing in unrelenting, incessant, and non-stop
prayer!
This scripture goes along with another of my
favorite stories where Peter heals a lame beggar:
One day Peter and John were going up to the
temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now
a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple
gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those
going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter
and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at
him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So
the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
Acts
3:1-6 (NIV)
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have,
but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, walk.”
The
man gave Peter his attention, expecting something from him, perhaps a
donation to keep him going and alive one more day. But Peter had the power of
the Holy Spirit and knew temporarily "fixing" him or his momentary
situation was not what he needed. The man needed healing to walk in wholeness
and have purpose for his life. It may have seemed that he got a "quick
fix" but really the daily gift of meeting the man's needs instead of
looking deeply at the heart of the man and the matter was really hindering him. We
need to remember we can help, but we can’t do
the work of recovery for someone else.
“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do
have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk,” is one of my favorite verses and so often
I feel like saying it to people. I don't always have money to help everyone, I
can't always find the right resources for everyone even those in my family, but
I can pray that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, they can
walk. Walk how, you say?
Walk
in wholeness of spirit.
Walk
with clarity of mind.
Walk
with resources that are so readily available when pursued.
Walk
with Jesus
Walk
with the Holy Spirit's power.
And
walk forward in prayer, not looking continually at the past. Just take that
next best step even if it is a baby step, walk!
"Taking
him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and
ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to
walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and
jumping, and praising God. When all the
people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized
him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called
Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had
happened to him." Acts 3:7-10 (NIV)
We know that we are powerless to change another but
sometimes we may need to take them by the hand until their ankles become
strong. Strengthened, then they will know who gave the healing and leap about
praising His name. Walk, I say in the power of the Holy Spirit. Today, just
walk forward!
Instead of “Help me if you can, I'm
feeling down
And I do appreciate you being 'round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won't you please, please help me?”
Perhaps
the song lyrics might be changed to:
“You helped me,
I no longer feel down
I appreciate that you were around,
When I fell on bended knee,
My help was found.”
Support
groups show us how to let go and let God do the work that we can’t do.
Eventually the person who brought you
to this place of need, will be glad that you respected them enough to back off
and let them do the work of recovery themselves. If they aren’t pursuing it,
they may not be ready. It might just be a part of their journey. Jesus can
still take their mess and turn it into a message. They may say, “Thanks for
helping put the ball right where it belonged; in my court. You helped me to
help myself.”
“You helped me,
I no longer feel down
I appreciate that you were around,
When I fell on bended knee,
My help was found.”
Donna Collins Tinsley copyright 2014
I thought of this song while writing this; it is
talking about the Breath of Heaven, which we need daily.
*Help, by the Beatles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q20QuQaMYI
