You need a hand?

William Shakespeare reminded us, "'Tis not enough to help the feeble up, but to support them after." Scripture reminds us, "Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important." (Galatians 6:2-3 NLT) The sharing of one another's burdens is something we all need to engage in, both as the giver of such support and on occasion, the receiver of it.

When we help another up, what are we doing? We are bearing some form of their burden, are we not? They have stumbled, perhaps even fallen, and they need a boost up. I cannot tell you how much it makes 'getting up' easier when another is helping to 'hoist the weight'! There will be moments in all of our lives when the burden gets too heavy to bear on our own. We need one another to make the load lighter, but especially when we are feeling particularly 'feeble' because of all life has thrown our way.

Feeble really carries the idea of being 'weakened' in some state. It could be in mind, body, or even spirit. We need to be sensitive to one another's 'cues' that something is just 'not right' in these areas. It is hard for you to read another's thoughts, but you can often tell where their 'head space' is by how they are communicating in so many other ways. Body posture can tell us a lot about how someone may be 'feeling' right now. Even a lack of communication can signal something may not be entirely 'right' for someone at the moment.

I like what Shakespeare said - it isn't just that we help them up, it is that we support them after they 'get up'. Our commitment to one another doesn't end just because things 'seem right' at the moment. It continues long afterward, ensuring that the one who was in that weakened state is now steady, strong, and able to engage in life once again. Sometimes that means we invest time in prayer on their behalf, while being present in their life wherever they need us to be. 

The chance to be a blessing in another's life may present itself to you soon. Don't be so caught up in your own life that you cannot see the needs of those around you. You never know when God will use you to be that lifeline for another who is in a far too weakened state to get out of it on their own. Just sayin!