Admitting Your Struggles is the First Step to Receiving Help
Turn to God with what you're facing.
If you’re anything like me, you don’t like to admit when you need help. You also may brush off loved ones who suggest a way to get help with whatever you’re facing (spiritual, physical, mental, etc.).
Why do we do this?
Maybe it’s because we like to hold to an ideal version of ourselves in our mind - and if we admit we are struggling with something, it means we have fallen short of the ideal version of ourselves.
Maybe we don’t like to admit we are struggling with something because we see ourselves as independent and able to do anything we set our minds to. Admitting we need help means we aren’t nearly as independent as we thought.
Maybe we don’t like to admit we are struggling with something because we like to maintain a certain image for other people. If we admit we need help with something in our lives, perhaps people will think less of us.
Whatever the reason we give ourselves, I think it can all be boiled down to pride.
We must let go of pride to admit we need help.
Our pride may be the only thing standing between us and the help we need. I didn’t come up with that thought on my own - notice what Peter wrote to Christians.
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:5-7)
Humbling ourselves is connected to casting all of our cares upon God. Our loving heavenly Father continues to care for us - and He wants us to cast every care upon Him.
But all too often, we pridefully hang on to those cares, having convinced ourselves we can handle it alone.
Generally speaking, I think men may struggle with this problem more than women. Women tend to confide in their friends about what they are experiencing, while men are more likely to keep everything to themselves.
Whether you are a man or woman, don’t let your pride stand between you and your God, who desires to carry your cares.
Admitting we need help is going to hurt our pride - but it’s what we truly need when we face struggles.