With A Little Help from My friend

“Two are better than one, because they have a

good return for their work; if one falls

down, his friend can help him up. But pity

the man who falls and has

no one to help him up!”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV)

The game of volleyball is one of power, positioning and endurance. It involves the use of every muscle in the body in order to serve, pass, set, attack, block and dig. But perhaps the most important part of volleyball is this: it is a team sport. Everyone has to work together as a team in order to win.

Just one member of the team playing hesitantly or timidly or not trusting other members to do their job can cause the whole team to falter and ultimately, to lose. No one knows this better than Coach Landrum at the local high school. And she has a plan.

In order to help the members of her team learn to count on each other, she begins volleyball season with a one mile endurance run that every girl has to finish. When the faster runners are through, they hurry back to the track to encourage those still running. They stand on the side lines and yell “Come on! Come on! You can do this! I know you can!” as teammates run by.

But that is not all. Still other members take that encouragement to a new level. They grab the hand of anyone slowing down or struggling to continue and they run together. “Come on. Just a few more feet. I’m here with you. We can do this!” they yell as they run a fourth of the distance.

At that point yet another teammate grabs the hand and off they go, cheering for several more feet before someone else joins in. This continues until every single team member has finished the race.

By running alongside their team members and holding on to them, they are learning to count on each other to work together as one. In effect they are saying “I’m here for you. No matter how long it takes, we – you and I – will get through together.”

We know that in the church, the race isn’t a mile run but something entirely different: it is being a single mom because a husband chose to leave or a physically and emotionally worn out daughter caring for a mother with Alzheimer’s 24/7 or a grandmother teaching a Sunday school class with a boy who is struggling with ADHD

.

Can I just ask you? Are you the one cheering on the sidelines, yelling “Come on! You can do it. I’m praying for you!” That is fantastic. But do you ever consider grabbing the hand of the hurting and saying “I’m here with you. We will get through this together.”

Both are important, absolutely. But I think there are times when we need to come along side those who are hurting or struggling and offer a hand to help them endure the running as they finish the race.

Will you let me take your hand and run beside you? We can do it – together!

Father, I want to always be encouraging those around me who are struggling but help me to not be afraid to take the hand of someone in need and stay by her side no matter what she is facing. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Have you seen someone struggling with a situation but didn’t step up and take their hand as they struggled to get through it?

• What kept you from offering that hand of encouragement?

Apply

• Pray about situations in which you know that someone needs not only prayer but a helping hand.

• Ask the person struggling if you can come along side her and help. And then follow through with that offer.

Power

• Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV) “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man w ho falls and has no one to help him up!”

• Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

• Proverbs 18:24 (NIV) “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”