One of the character traits that I’ve always prided myself on is perseverance. If there is one thing that is true of me, I have the ability to not quit. This can be a tremendous asset but sometimes it is an enormous problem. This is  an embarrassing story but I’ll share it to make my point. Last night I was going a little stir crazy in the house and wanted to go outside to get some fresh air. I decided to put the dog (she’s a yorkie poo so she’s not really a dog) on the leash and start walking. I decided to choose a rather ambitious route and I didn’t know how ambitious until I got over 4 miles from the house. I realized that with the way that I went, I was not going to be able to make it home because of a bridge without a walking path. It was dark outside and in order to go back the way that I came, I was going to be walking a long time. I decided that I needed help. I had to swallow my pride and call a friend that lives nearby to come pick me up and take me home. The best thing to do in that situation was quit and ask for help.

Have you ever been there? Psalm 46:10 is one of those passages that I really need to internalize. God is speaking in it and he says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The word in Hebrew for “Be still” is raphah and it means to let go and quit. It means to cease striving. You don’t see too many celebrities that are applauded for quitting and asking for help. We get way more excited about the people that keep fighting in spite of insurmountable odds. I’m not saying that there isn’t something to be said for dogged perseverance but there is also a time to quit and ask for help.

Sometimes the only way that God can get our attention is to let us strain at the oars until we realize that we have NO HOPE of saving ourselves. It is then and only then that we will finally call out to him for help. We’ll then know that the only reason we didn’t drown is because an incredible God came to our rescue. Then he is the one who gets the glory and not us. 

So what about you? Have you been swimming upstream lately? Maybe it’s time to quit and ask for help. The goal is to get back home and sometimes you just have to call for a ride (-;

Would love to hear about a time that you had to quit and ask for help so leave a comment if you get a minute.