Did you know the Beatles’ song “Help!” was more than just a song. John Lennon knew he was over his head. He even shared in an interview that he was crying out for help. For real.
Before we get to what to do when YOU really need help, welcome to “Mornings with Bishop Robert” — Believe it or not, we ALL need help.
You’d think that having your cry for help become the number one song in both the US and the UK for three weeks in row would communicate the message. Hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the ocean heard the song. Many memorized it. Folks would sing along while it played on their radios. They heard it. They just didn’t listen. If they had, the message couldn’t have been more clear ….
Help! I need somebody
Help! Not just anybody
Help! You know I need someone
HELP !!!
In case the opening verse somehow slipped by unnoticed, Lennon doubled down on his message.
Help me if you can, I’m feeling down
And I do appreciate you being ’round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won’t you please, please help me?
The flip side of the single was a song called “I’m Down.” Another cry for help.
It would be another fifteen years before John Lennon would discuss it in an interview. The meteoric rise of the Beatles’ popularity was beyond his comprehension. That’s how he described it. It had overwhelmed him, and he said he was crying out for help subconsciously in the only way he knew how. The masses heard the words and missed the message.
Today’s verse says THE SPIRIT HELPS US IN OUR WEAKNESS.
Sometimes getting help when you need it is not a function of how many people you ask, it’s a matter of asking the right one! You’ve got to ask someone who’s actually listening. God hears, and listens. Then God responds. He gives power to the ones who are fainting with fear and weakness. Power to hold on to Him, follow His direction and regain their footing. And to those who have no might at all, He increases their strength. In every situation, the power and strength of God is available to anyone who will ask. It may be the strength to press through a crushing situation, or the power to live through it with grace. Or even the power to die well. Whatever the situation is, the one who turns to God for help will find that THE SPIRIT HELPS US IN OUR WEAKNESS.
Often, He uses His followers to be His eyes and ears, His hands and feet. If you are a true follower of Jesus, you are His body here on earth; and you have His Spirit within you. And we who follow Him, if the truth be told, often feel overwhelmed by the same life battles. Sometimes we wonder how God can use us to help anyone, since we have such inner struggles ourselves. For us, the same promise holds true. THE SPIRIT HELPS US IN OUR WEAKNESS. It is with His power and provision that He sends us into the world.
Well-known author A. W. Tozer said, “God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible. What a pity that we plan only the things we can do by ourselves.” Let’s not limit our reach to the things we can touch in our own strength. The world needs more help than that. They need the love of God, the power of His Spirit flowing through His hands and feet. That’s us.
If we are His ears, don’t we need to listen? The cries for help are all around us. Sometimes in the number one song on the radio, but more often in the driveway next door or booth behind us in the restaurant. Are you listening? When you hear the cry for help, will you respond in YOUR strength? Or in His? THE SPIRIT HELPS. Invite Him.
If we are His eyes, are they open? The waitress working on New Year’s Day in an Orlando restaurant had her eyes open even though she was tired and taking care of the final table of a long and very busy day. The boy sitting at the table with two adults and a young girl was wearing a mask. Not uncommon during the COVID crisis. But the waitress noticed a large scratch between his eyebrows, and that the adults didn’t order food for him. When she noticed the bruising on the side of his face, she decided to act. Standing behind the adults so they could not see, she held up a note that read, “DO YOU NEED HELP?” When the boy nodded, she alerted the manager and they called the police. It saved the boy’s life. Both waitress and manager gave credit to God for their actions.
If you need help, message me. I serve a BIG GOD!!! And He cares about you. Be as smart as the Beatles, call for help when you need it.
If you’re a Jesus follower, who will you see today that needs you to be God’s hands? When cries for help reach your ears, will you hear them? Don’t get distracted by the music, listen to the message.
THE SPIRIT HELPS US IN OUR WEAKNESS.
All of us!
