Theology Thursdays: Help Is On The Way by Bishop TD Jakes

Whether you’re old, young, married or single, you need help to accomplish the things you must do. Some people, however, are not humble enough to admit that they need help. They go on in their own arrogant way seemingly thinking that they can handle everything!

Most of us have become professional actors portraying that we are okay when we really need help. But there is a level of attack in our lives that becomes so overwhelming that we can no longer "act out" the scenes of our lives. There are people around you right now who are facing problems beyond human comprehension and you’d never know it.

Have you ever had a problem that was so complicated that if you had to articulate it to someone, you couldn’t? Have you ever been in a predicament where the situation was so embarrassing that you couldn’t tell anybody? Let’s go deeper. Have you ever needed someone’s help, but you were so messed up in your mind that you didn’t know what to ask for or whether you should ask at all?

I know what its like to put on a smile and say "everything’s fine" just because people expect me to. I also know what its like to be buried so deeply in a place of unresolved issues that I feel alienated from everyone around me including my family.

The Bible tells a story of a man who had reached that place in his life. He was so overwhelmed by his problems that he’d disconnected from his family and friends, left his home and began dwelling in the tombs. He was a living man in a dead place.

A person reaches that dead place when they’ve become physically, emotionally and spiritually ineffective. They become numb as a result of their circumstance. We hear about people like this on the news who commit suicide or go on a shooting rampage at work. Often the people who knew them are surprised because the person masked his or her issues and pretended that everything was okay.

This man, whose name goes without mention, was so angry that he became violently self-destructive. He was depressed and emotionally disturbed to the point that he would cry one moment and cut himself with stones the next.

What do you do when you reach a place like this…when you’ve sent out distress signals and no one comes to help you? What do you do when you lay in the bed with someone at night who acts as if you’re not there…when you have a child that you can’t raise…when you need the check today and it hasn’t shown up yet…when you’ve prayed and it seems that God is never going to answer?

One day, Jesus and the disciples decided to take the boat to the other side. Without a specific destination, they set sail. The Bible records that a "strange" storm arose. (Strange storms often precede great miracles. They generally occur when the devil senses that help is on the way.)

Jesus was asleep at the time and when they awakened Him, He spoke to the winds and commanded, "Peace, be still!" Jesus had no plans to meet this man. He wasn’t summoned or even aware of the man’s distress. But He showed up at the right time.

When Jesus and the disciples reached the other side, the man although possessed by demons, ran to meet Jesus and worshipped Him. Jesus cast out the demons, blessed the man and sent Him on his way. When he returned home, all the people who had counted him out were amazed by how he was restored.

Whatever is going on in your life right now, don’t give up, help is on the way. Command the winds that are blowing in your life to "be still." God is ready to deliver and restore you and He’s already orchestrated your escape.

God is greater than any challenge you will ever face. Acknowledge Him. He will give you double for your trouble and the people who knew you when, will be amazed by God’s goodness in your life. Hang in there…HELP IS ON THE WAY!

Bishop T.D. Jakes is the founder and Senior Pastor of The Potter's House in Dallas, one of the largest churches in the nation. This article was published on Black America Web.

Bishop TD Jakes

Thursday, September 15, 2005

To discuss this article further enter The Deeper Look Dialogue Room

The views and opinions expressed herein by the author do not necessarily represent the opinions or position of BlackElectorate.com or Black Electorate Communications.