So, here’s a funny thing.  I was supposed to be starting a Bible study today in Jeremiah, and for some reason, I opened the book of Nehemiah instead. I ended up reading the first two chapters of Nehemiah instead of the first two chapters of Jeremiah. I guess God knew what I needed to read and be inspired by today with the book of Nehemiah.

In this book, Nehemiah was sad because the walls around Jerusalem, his home city, were destroyed. Back in this time period, the walls were very important to a city, offering protection and more. Through his heartache, Nehemiah prayed about Jerusalem. He did his best to listen and learn and be thankful for the gifts God gave him. And he continued to pray. Finally, he felt like he needed to go to Jerusalem and help rebuild the walls around the city.

At this time, he worked for the king. The king noticed Nehemiah was sad and asked him what was wrong. Nehemiah told him, and then took the bold step (after all, he was only a servant of the king) to ask the king for permission to go to Jerusalem, as well as the letters to get through the cities safely and letters to get timber and wood so he could rebuild the city.

Here’s what’s jumping out at me. Nehemiah had a mission, and he knew God was in charge of that mission, and he was confident that he would succeed, because God was in charge.

But Nehemiah also wasn’t afraid to ask for help. He asked for help from the King, which was huge, and asked for help from others. While Nehemiah trusted God for the outcome, he also knew God would place people in his path to help him.

The commentary in my Bible says that God’s answers to prayer may come as a result of our asking others for help.

I’ve written about this topic before. For me, I’m not always the most open person with my friends, and believe me, that has nothing to do with my friends, because they are wonderful and will help and will console and will do everything they can if there’s a need. So, I don’t know if it’s pride, if it’s weakness, if it’s not trusting God, as to why I’m not as open with others, and why I don’t always ask for help.

The funny thing is, I will preach to other people that it’s okay to reach out. I tell them to please reach out because you don’t want to deprive others of a blessing. God may have work for them to do, and that work may be helping you.

While my heart knows it’s okay to ask for help, apparently my head thinks it’s a tricky thing. For me, it’s hard to be open, it’s hard to be vulnerable. Yet am I really trusting God with what he has me to do? Sometimes that will involve asking for help from other people, and that’s a lesson I still need to learn, and one I’m trying to learn.

I’ve even seen this lesson in action, with aging parents. After my mom had a few strokes, her balance wasn’t as good. She fell, yet she didn’t want to use a walker because of pride. But family and friends eventually convinced her that she would have more independence with the walker than she would without it. Without it, Dad wouldn’t leave the house to run errands, because he was concerned, she would fall and then not be able to get up while he was gone. She eventually used a walker, and actually moved better and seemed less fragile with it than without.

God gives us the tools and the people to help accomplish what He wants us to do. It’s okay to use a walker to get that extra support and that extra stability so we can keep going with our mission.

So, what kind of ripple effects are there when you ask for help or use tools to assist you? When you share with your friends, they may provide just the tool you need to take the next step. You may be providing them with the next step in their mission, too. Therefore, it’s not just your ripple effect, but the ripple effects from them as well, that can help others. We can all learn from each other, learn what to do, what not to do, how to react, what to say, even what not to say.

Imagine the continued ripple effects when you ask people for help. Imagine the ripple effects when you can keep going because you use a walker, or you lean on someone or something. And when you continue to lean on God. Remember, God works through other people, and we need to be open to that. I need to keep reminding myself of this.

I still need to start reading Jeremiah, but I’m certainly glad I opened the book of Nehemiah instead. God even used my mistake to encourage me today.

What about you? Do you find it easy to ask for help? What prompts you to follow through?

Let’s encourage one another.