I’m Fine

For though the Lord is high, God regards the lowly; but the haughty God perceives from far away. – Psalm 138:6 (NRSV, adapted) 

Just exactly why it’s so hard for so many of us to ask for help is a mystery. From asking what aisle the thing is in, all the way up to going to therapy or joining a twelve-step group, admitting we aren’t masters of the universe, that we could use an assist, is the hardest thing some of us can imagine. 

And even though this is self-evidently a terrible way to go through life, God seems to have made it a core principle that she will respect our wishes in this regard. 

God will watch, will be aware—the fall of every sparrow, remember? But God will keep God’s distance while you grunt, “It’s not heavy, it’s just awkward.” While you stagger through life with the weight of the world hanging off you like someone insisting they can bring all the groceries from the car in one trip. While you get more and more lost rather than just stopping and asking someone who’s been this way before what you ought to do. 

Is this a preservation of our autonomy, our free will? Is it a strategy, like parents letting kids work it out themselves instead of intervening? Something else? I certainly don’t know. 

All I know is that God has promised to perceive your foolish haughty self from far away. Until, that is, you just do the hardest thing and ask for help. Then God has promised to be as close to you as your own breathing. 

Prayer
Come, God, come. You know exactly what it meant when I said I was fine. Amen.

About the Author
Quinn G. Caldwell is Chaplain of the Protestant Cooperative Ministry at Cornell University. His most recent book is a series of daily reflections for Advent and Christmas called All I Really Want: Readings for a Modern Christmas. Learn more about it and find him on Facebook at Quinn G. Caldwell.