Help Me

 Psalm 109:26 says, "Help me, O Lord my God; save me according to your lovingkindness." (NASB)

Two simple words to start the verse - help me.  I wonder how often we are willing to speak these two simple words.  We have a hard time speaking them to one another.  We do not like to ask for help.  We can offer help, we can reject help when others offer it, but it seems like in our culture the one thing that we cannot do is ask for help.  

The trouble is that we all actually need help.  We never were designed to do this life alone.  We were designed to do it in relationship, in community, in connection to both God and others.  Think about what life would be like if we followed through on our rugged individualism.  No support when we are grieving, not joy shared when we are joyous. A cursory glance at our life shows that we do not know all we need for life.  I may know a lot, but I do not know how to fix my own dishwasher, or repair a car.  My sump pump died recently and I am grateful for a friend who was able to fix it.  I could not do it alone.  

So why do we try.  Why are we not more quick to offer the words "help me" to God and to others around us?  Help us.

Let it be resolved

 Every time January 1 rolls around the mass of humanity seems to encourage us to make resolutions for the new year.  I heard on the radio yesterday that nearly 90 percent of these resolutions have been given up on by the first day of Spring.  Think of it - in just over 2.5 months 90 percent of us have failed.  This seems the opposite of resolve.  

I wonder if we fail so frequently because of the fact that we are pretending to be resolved, or if it might have more to do with the fact that we are stating our resolve over things that were never intended to be a matter of resolve.  Did God really create  us to resolve ourselves to a better diet?  More exercise?  Less dessert?  Did He create us so that we would properly manage our work load?  Better order our earthly priorities?  

If God truly created us to bring honor and glory to Him, than perhaps our resolve ought to be focused on Him as well.  I am not suggesting that the only valid goals for the new year have to do with Bible reading and prayer - we too often focus these on our own sense of accomplishment and not the glory of God anyway.  I am suggesting that we take whatever we do and resolve that it will be for the glory of God.  That we place ourselves in submission to His will.  That we search the Scriptures and ask His Spirit to reveal to us what it is that He would have us do.  That we would resolve to make ourselves diminish so that His glory could grow in our lives.  

Resolved - 2024 I will live for the glory of God in all aspects of my life.  Of course, I will fail this resolution too.  I will likely fail in some aspect of my life before the end of this day.  But resolve is not measured in how many times we fail, but how many times we try again.  Soli Deo Gloria.