Devotion written by Jaime Sicairos
Getting Help When I needed Help
Ga 6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Everyone needs help from time to time. Whenever I make the decision to do something I tend to always pick the hardest avenue to do it. Maybe it is due to my ignorance, lack of research or just the fact that a big part of my personality is the greater the challenge the greater the reward so maybe it didn’t really matter. I remember very vividly running my first half marathon (13.1 miles) on April 1, 2017. It is known as one of the prettiest half marathons in the country, but little did I know it comes at the expense of 29 rolling hills to the finish line. All the runners who spoke to me on this journey are very encouraging, but many were shocked to find out this was my first half. In fact, there response was generally, “Why did you pick this as your first half?”
In the process of running my first half I became very fatigued especially the last 4 miles after the dreaded “mile 9.” I could feel my feet bleeding, but I refused to stop and examine them in fear that I would just want to quit. So, I kept moving, slow, but I was moving. The last couple of miles was more walking than running. As I was approaching the final mile just ready for it to be over I looked up and there was my sister. It should be noted that she flew in from Florida to run my first half marathon with me. She had already finished her race, but she came back for me. She came back mainly for moral support. It was impossible for her to literally pick me up and carry me. She could not finish the race for me, so it was purely for motivation purposes. I was mentally and physically exhausted at this point. However, seeing what my sister had done, and knowing she didn’t have to do what she did greatly encouraged me. It made me forgot about the pain in my feet. It made me forget how tired I was. It made me forget about the bleeding blisters on my feet. It helped me focus on the task at hand and that was to get across the finish line. My sister literally came and “helped a brother out.”
How It Relates to the Christian
In this Christian race we are in it is so easy to focus on our own fatigue, our pain and our wounds that we forget that there are others running the race too. My sister didn’t have to come back for me and though she was and still is a much better runner than I, I don’t doubt that she was fatigued as well. She put herself aside to help her brother. Friends this is critical in helping us to endure. I have heard it said before that “we go through what we go through to help others go through what they are going through.” The bible tells us to “bear ye one another’s burdens.” Let us not get so distracted by our own problems that we fail to recognize the problems in other people’s lives. I have learned by experience that helping others out helps me to not focus on myself. Meeting needs for others has often even give a different attitude on my own circumstances. Many times, it has even made me realize my problems are not as bad as I thought they were. We serve God by serving others. What many don’t know and don’t realize that often when I try to meet the need of another person that its on those days that I am facing the greatest battles in my own life. This truly does bring me joy. In fact, that is the basic recipe for joy.
How do you obtain real Joy?
Jesus
Others
Yourself.
If we keep our priorities in that order it does help to bring joy in our lives. I get joy making others happy. I get joy making someone smile. I get joy helping to meet a need. Keep Christ first in your life but remember to help bear burdens for others. Let’s determine maybe even today to “help a brother out.” Christ put us before he put himself.
Php 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: