It is probably the most passion-filled plea uttered across the world. It is voiced in many languages, under many difficult circumstances.
“God help me.”
It is the cry that comes from deep inside our soul. It is the cry that we express when we see no other option but divine intercession. It is the cry of surrender when we reach our breaking point, when we believe that we have no control, and only the power of God can save us.
“God help me.”
It is ironic that those of us who feel quite comfortable coasting through life without faith in a higher power, suddenly appeal to that Higher Power in that moment of desperation. And when we fail to see any results from our plea, we revert to our weak or non-existent faith.
What we may fail to realize is that the help we seek has been with us all along. What we fail to realize is that the existence of the God we appeal to is the answer to our prayer.
This is one of those moments when faith and logic unite to provide the answer we need – not necessarily the answer we want.
There is no escaping the fact that each of us will experience moments of desperation. It may be the loss of a loved one through death or divorce. It may be a job loss at the worst possible time. It may be a betrayal or a financial disaster.
We all have those moments. It is part of the experience of life, and life does carry those surprises, many times unpleasant, many times overwhelming.
Perhaps the secret to coping with those terrible moments is adjusting our perspective. Perhaps we need to recognize that those moments are but a fraction of our existence on earth. Perhaps we need to acknowledge the vastly overwhelming amount of good in our lives and accept that those few moments of pain and anxiety is the price we pay for the opportunity to experience joy.
Perhaps, from our new perspective, we can realize that the fact that God does not intervene as we would wish, does not mean He is indifferent to our suffering. He may, in fact, have already answered our prayer in advance by giving us the tools we need to overcome our pain.
Finally, we need to realize and embrace the logical conclusion that it is our relationship with our Creator that is the key to unlocking the strength, courage, and perseverance that we need to survive those crisis moments and go on to thrive.
We all have the tools to cope with a crisis, but those tools are dormant until we activate them. And it is our faith that can bring them to life.