About a month ago I got a call from Xfinity saying that they wanted to upgrade our cable box at no extra charge.  Up until this point, we had no problems with our existing box. But if Comcast says the new one is better, who am I to argue?  So, I agreed, and they sent us the new box, complete with a new remote control and instructions on how to return the old box.  Except the new box stopped working after about a month.  I reset it, unplugged it, wiggled all the cords, swapped out HDMI cables, replaced the batteries in the remote- but nothing.  A big NO SIGNAL screen saver appeared on our TV.  I was stuck.

About the same time, our router began giving us trouble.  My son Justin wanted to launch his own Minecraft server but the admin login and password that was listed on the side of the router/modem didn’t work and we couldn’t access the setup program.  And then, randomly, certain devices began to suddenly lose connectivity, while others continued to work fine.  I wasn’t sure whether we needed tech support or an exorcist.

Well, we’ve lived with this for over a month. But finally, on Monday, I decided to do something.  I logged onto the Xfinity website and up popped a little chat box.  “Hi, this is Rashid, how can I help you?” It said.  Well, I gotta tell you, I was skeptical.  I’ve tried those chat room interfaces before and I don’t like them. Once with Verizon, I ended up “chatting” with a computer and got stuck in an endless loop of “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” And “Please state in simple language the problem you are having.”

But I was wrong.  Rashid was patient, efficient, and knowledgeable. The man knew his stuff! He gave me clear instructions on what I should do on my end, while he worked the problem on his end.  And after almost an hour, we got everything squared away.  I could never have fixed those issues on my own.  I needed help.

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.Matthew 7:7-8

Part of maturing in Christ is learning to say, “I need help” and “I can’t do this on my own.”  As Christians, the whole resources of heaven and the church are at our disposal, but first, we need to be humble enough to acknowledge that we are stuck and need help.  No one can be an expert in everything. There’s just too much to know. We can’t do it all.  So, while I may be able to paint and build shelves or handle a chainsaw, I need help when my car breaks down (thanks Eric Musser) or my air conditioner conks out (thanks Wally Lowenthal).  These are areas I just don’t have a whole lot of knowledge or experience.  I think everyone gets this on a physical level, I mean we all go to the doctor, right? So why are we so slow to ask for help when it comes to the things of God?  Why would we assume we can figure everything out or know it all? There comes a time when we ALL need help.

• I need help with my marriage
• I need help with my doubts and anxiety
• I need help understanding the Bible
• I need help overcoming this sin, habit or addiction
• I need help through this season of life

I. Need. Help.

Three times in Scripture, the Bible says, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Proverbs 3:34, 1 Peter 5:5, James 4:6). The body of Christ is designed for interdependence, so if we are living in isolation, hiding our problems or too proud to ask for help, we are going to hit the wall. It’s guaranteed.

No one who gets help ever says, “You know, I think I should have waited for things to get worse.” or  “Things are great now, but I should have suffered a little bit longer.”   Let’s reach out to God and each other and get the help we need.