Skinned Knees

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed” (Psalm 34:18, NLT).

When your child falls and skins a knee, she runs to you and says, “Mommie, make it better.” Our parents are a part of our support network all our lives. A support network is simply people who provide emotional and practical help in difficult circumstances.

I love the story of Moses and the battle with Amalek in Exodus 17:9-13. As long as Moses held his hands up to God, Joshua was winning. But Moses’ hands got tired and he dropped them, and Joshua began to lose. So Aaron and Hur got a rock for Moses to sit on, and each stood on either side and held Moses’ arms up for him. And at the end of the day Joshua had won the battle. This is a wonderful illustration of supporting family and friends through the heavy burdens of life.

Let me put it in more relatable terms. Six pallbearers carry a casket from the hearse to the grave because it is a physical burden too large for one man. The weight of grief one experiences when a loved one dies is an emotional burden too heavy to bear alone. Having loved ones or a loss support group to share the burden of our grief will help us bear the loss.

The most important, though often overlooked, member of our support group is God. “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:5, NLT). Wow, it gave him great pleasure to adopt me (and you)! Meditate on that fact and let it encourage you. God is my heavenly father and when I skin my knees I can run to him for help. You can too.

To get a better picture of how God supports us read "Footprints in the Sand."
Debra L. Butterfield ©2010

2 comments:

  1. "I get by with a little help from my friends." :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Where would we be without friends or the Beatles?

    ReplyDelete