Next Time, Call for Help

By Robin J. Steinweg –

A boy and his little sister chased down a purse-snatcher at Daytona Beach. The thief, a young woman of twenty, nabbed their mother’s purse and took off with the children in hot pursuit. The ten-year-old girl followed the snatcher into a bathroom and ended up with the purse, while the pilferer ended up in police custody shortly thereafter.

It sounds like a movie script, doesn’t it? I can almost hear kids everywhere cheering and mothers groaning in horror, imagining what might have happened. The children’s own mother said she was proud of them, but told them, “Next time, you call for help!”

Indeed. I wonder if, in the privacy of home, their parents grounded them forever. Still, I can identify with these little heroes. They saw, they conquered. They did it themselves, though everything was stacked against them.

The desire “to do it ourselves” is steeped in us pretty deeply. We assert our independence at a young age. I remember my sons demanding to dress themselves, and coming out in a cacophony of color and patterns, putting everybody’s eyes at peril. We admire the millionaire who started with nothing, the athlete who overcame physical handicaps, and marvel at the log cabin that served as the birthplace for a future president.

We like to do things for ourselves.

What is it that makes me determined to do it on my own?  It might be stubbornness. More likely, it’s simply my old companion, Pride, and his brother Foolishness. “I don’t need to pray about this—I can do it myself.” “Pray? It’s not that bad yet!” “I’m not going to bother God with it; He’s too busy with more important things.” “God helps those who help themselves.”

Pride nudges me and says, “It’ll look great on your resume if you do it alone.”

Foolishness forgets that a God who creates things out of nothing—with just a word— is hardly going to be hindered by time. Busy? Ha!

Wisdom is more likely to say, “God help those who try to help themselves!”

PRAYER: Lord, forgive my stubborn pride and protect me when I go chasing after life without coming to You first. I choose from here on out to chase hard after You instead. You’re with me always, and You know what’s best for me.

” The Lord is near to all who call on Him… He hears their cry and saves them” (Psalm 145:18 – 19 NIV).