We Need Outside Help!

Life is tough.

We Need Outside Help To Face Life

Life is tough. It doesn’t always follow a straight path. It comes with unexpected turns and twists for which we are not prepared for.

Because life is tough and things come in life for which we are not prepared for, life requires toughness and courage to face it. Only the brave finish well in life.

However, no one is brave enough from the birth to face life fearlessly. Bravery is a learned behavior born out of the lessons one has learnt while facing the difficult situations of life.

Just as bravery is a learned behavior, cowardice is also a learned behavior conditioned by the ruthlessness of defeats in the face of many tough situations. Bravery propels us forward in life while cowardice pulls us back.

When life refuses to move forward, we lose focus and start seeing things from a defeated perspective. Soon the chemicals in our brain follow the patterns of our perspective, and we wonder if life is worth trying at all.

Most of us have encountered discouragement. Some of us have defeated it while others have succumbed to it.

When discouragement stares at us, we need a helping hand, an outside help to steer our gaze away from it. A pat on the shoulder, an embrace, a kind word, a listening ear, or something like that means a lot to a person who is about to lose the battle with life. A human touch can be a lifesaver.

But a human touch is a human touch after all. It can only provide a momentary relief from the pain of life. The battle has to be fought from the inside out. Courage has to come from the inner man. How can a depressed person who has lost all hope become courageous from the inside out?

This is when the Bible supersedes psychological counseling. A trained counselor has only words, a psychiatrist has only chemicals, but Jesus said;

“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you — they are full of the Spirit and life” (Jn.6:63, NIV).

Human beings are not just fleshly creatures; they are spirit beings. This is how we were created by God, and only God knows how to fix us when we are broken. Depression, discouragement and cowardice are the symptoms of, except in some cases when the chemicals in the brain decide to go out of order for no reason, a broken spirit. We can handle a broken body, but the brokenness of the spirit is a very different and difficult thing. We may have a perfect body, and yet carry a shattered spirit.

The Bible says “The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?” (Prov.18:14). Doctors and therapists can fix the sickness of the body, but they have no power to heal a crushed spirit.

Only God can mend a broken spirit. And he does it by sending His own Spirit in us. Jesus the God-man knows our brokenness and invites us for the repairment by saying; “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt.11:28, NIV).

Jesus does not only give us rest from our burdens, he also gives us the power to live a life of bravery and courage. He does that by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in our spirit who enables us to live a victorious life. He said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8, NIV).

Yes, life is tough. But we are made to last and live victoriously. That we can do only if we have the life-giving words of Jesus and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit actively working in our lives.

No human words, counseling, therapy or help can fully revive a broken spirit. Only the Spirit of God has the power to do so. But he only does it in accordance with our willingness. “A broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise” (Ps.51:17, NIV).

All we have to do is to ask Jesus to mend us and fill us with the Holy Spirit. He is more than willing to do that; in fact, he is seeking to save us from our brokenness. When we ask him, he makes us as if we are a new creation!

Once we are made anew by the Word and Spirit of Christ, we are no longer fearful of life; we embrace life because the life-giving Spirit of God invigorates us from the inside out!

A Spirit filled person is a victorious person, a brave person who can face any unexpected turns and twists of life.

Many Christians live a sad, miserable, defeated, discouraged and depressed life because they have not accepted the life-giving words of Christ and the re-invigorating power of the Holy Spirit.

But they don’t have to live like that. Jesus is alive. His word is alive. The Holy Spirit is alive.

So, don’t be a victim of your denominational teachings that put religion over and above the words of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Don’t be a victim of anti-Charismatic preachers and theologians who militate against the active work of the Holy Spirit in a believers life today. Ask Jesus to fill you, baptize you and anoint you with the Holy Spirit.

Be a victorious person by putting your faith in the words of Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit! Face life fearlessly by faith in what Jesus has done for you through the power of the Holy Spirit!