The dictionary defines support as: âto bear all or part of the weight; to hold up; to give assistance to; to enable to act or function; to keep from fainting, yielding, or losing courageâ. Some other words used in conjunction are advocate, help, assist, maintain, and comfort.
Support is a familiar term in our vocabulary. For lots of us, technical support is a must. Some of us may need emotional support or financial support from agencies that provide those things.  The world is full of charities that solicit our support. And many of us are happy to support them.  But these kinds of support are not my focus for today. I want to talk about supporting each other.Â
People need support for myriads of reasons in order to make it through the complexity of their lives. Yet, support sometimes carries a negative connotation. People can think of support like a crutch, and that often corresponds to âdependencyâ in their minds. I often wonder if these people had a broken leg, would they decline to use a crutch to walk until theyâre healed? Of course I understand that support can be exploited. But most folks do not succumb to that. They view support as a means to an end. They can attest to the value of support as a factor in overcoming their adversity.
Support is designed to help us get through difficult situations. It is goal oriented. It is a tool to get us to recovery. We all struggle at times. Things go wrong or become difficult. Circumstances may overwhelm us or catch us off-guard. We may just grow weary of the fight. There are many reasons that we might need some assistance or comfort to enable us to function. Receiving support helps get us back to wellness. It helps us cope. So I think that we can safely say that itâs okay to get support. Asking for support is not an admission of weakness, nor is it âtoo much to askâ. Itâs simply a step toward getting back on track. Support helps keep us from âfainting, yielding, or losing courageâ.
I think there are basically two attitudes that prevent people from asking for help. One is pride. (There is a difference between being prideful and being proud of ourselves. Itâs perfectly acceptable to be proud of our accomplishments and successes that weâve worked hard to achieve. We should take pride in our work and put forth our best efforts.) Prideful people somehow think that they are better than others. They boast of their own abilities and glory in themselves. They are conceited, and disdainful. This is the kind of pride that hurts people.
In Proverbs 16, it says that pride goes before destruction, which can also be translated as âshatteringâ or âcrashingâ. Pride leads people down the path of ruin. Pride puts people on a collision course with failure. A prideful person usually never admits (even to himself) that he needs help. His pride wonât allow it. He alienates people because he thinks that he is better than they are. He seldom has many friends because no one can measure up to his prideful standard. Consequently when he falls, even if he admits that he might need help at that point, there may not be anyone around to pick him up.
The other attitude that keeps people from asking for help is feeling like they donât want to bother or burden anyone. I understand this. I lean toward this feeling myself. Most people do not want to be thought of as âneedyâ and in fact, find being needy distasteful. But seeking support is not being needy. What is more profitable â admitting that you need help, or failing miserably because you were afraid to seek support? I think we all would agree that asking for help is a much better solution than failing.
Support comes to us in many ways. From professional counsellors to the friend who offers us a shoulder to cry on, people provide solace and advice. A kind word or a gentle touch can be all the support we need sometimes. Our families are often the first ones to offer us loving support. Parents generally want to support their children more than their children want to be supported!  Another source of support can come from books. According to one market analysis, about $549 million is spent on self-help books in our country annually. Of course, the best self-help book is the Bible (which is not included in the above analysis), but Iâll talk more about that later. There are times that we may need lots of help, maybe from multiple sources. And no matter how serious or how menial our situation is, support can make the situation more manageable. Â
People canât always be there for us, even if they want to be. But there is One who is always there, and that is God. Our Father, God is all powerful and all knowing. Therefore, He has all the ability necessary to help us in any and every situation. And He knows exactly what we need no matter what we are facing. God can answer everyoneâs prayers even if we are all praying at the same time. Being omniscient and omnipotent means that He can give each and every one of us individual attention at any given moment and meet all of our needs personally no matter what or how many they are. So, who better to support us? Godâs ear is always open to our prayers, and He is willing and able to provide whatever we need. Heâs never too busy or pre-occupied to support His children. When we understand this, we can determine to make God as living and real in our lives as any person could be. He can be our first line of defense because He is mightier than all of us put together. He never lets us down. He is completely trustworthy. He keeps our confidences.Â
In addition to prayer, reading the Bible offers us endless support. Every book is somebodyâs words, but the Bible is Godâs words. And Godâs words are pure and perfect. They have power. There are no better words than they to give us any and all the support we need.
For example, perhaps you are sad. You read in your Bible:
Psalm 16:11
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Suddenly, you are no longer sad! Godâs words have rescued you from your sadness. The scriptures are full of edification, exhortation, and comfort. A single verse can change our lives. Godâs Word is that powerful and It supports us like no other words can!
There is no shame in asking for help when we need it. There is nothing wrong with seeking or accepting support. God placed us in a body as it states in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 27 â âNow ye are the body of Christ, and members in particularâ. God used the example of our human bodies to illustrate the way we are supposed to work together as Christians. Just as our human bodies rally when a part is injured, we should rally when a member of the body of Christ is hurt. And the best thing is that it doesnât matter whether we are the supporter or the support-ee, both get blessed when we work together.
Support is not limited to only times of trouble. We can support each other in the good times too. For instance, your brother is performing in a play. You attend the play to support him. How about your friendâs daughter who is selling Girl Scout cookies? How many boxes do you buy? That is support.
There are also times that we can support someone without even knowing it. Have you ever had someone thank you for something you did for them that was actually unintentional on your part? If we are in the habit of being generous, kind, and caring, chances are these situations will happen.  Also, we may be inspired to say or do something for someone but not know why. Then we do it and find out that it was exactly what was needed. These kinds of support are so rewarding because most of us derive much satisfaction from helping people.
So donât be afraid to seek support when you need it. And donât hesitate to give support when you see a need. Because either way, you will be blessed!
Note to my readers: I am ever thankful for your support of my blog. Thanks for reading!!