How are you? Are you in a good place right now? Family doing well? Job going well? What about your health?

We all go through good times and some not so good times in life. When life is going well, we’re strong. We go through our days without skipping a beat. As my friend, Lynn, says, we’re steady. However, we all encounter times when we just need some help. Our whole world doesn’t need to be falling apart to need a little assistance. In fact, things can be going well, but we just encounter something we can’t accomplish or overcome on our own.

Several of my friends have launched Kickstarters lately. Are you familiar with Kickstarter? It is a website for creative people who are looking to fund projects like releasing a CD or publishing a book. It allows them to reach out to their friends soliciting assistance in making a dream become a reality. Their need is for financial support. They need people to sow into their dream.

Others ask their friends to come along side them and support their step of faith into the mission field. They’ve been called to a short term mission trip and they’ve said yes, but don’t have the resources to go. Through support letters, they invite friends to partner with them in fulfilling the Great Commission.

You may not have a friend trying to go in the mission field, record a CD or even publish a book, but one having trouble with a prodigal child. That friend doesn’t need your money. She needs your prayers, your encouragement, and possibly a shoulder to cry on to make it through a day.

Whatever the need, God never intended for us to walk this journey called life alone. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says,

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”

Luke 5:17-26 tells the story of a man who needed healing; however, he couldn’t get to Jesus because of the crowd. Fortunately for him, he had some very determined friends. They refused to be thwarted by a crowd. They took him to the roof, dug a hole in it and lowered him to the feet of Jesus to be healed. I thank God for friends like this in my life.

Whether you’re in need of financial support to get across the ocean to serve on a short term mission trip or in need of words of encouragement to get through your day, we need each other. Romans 12:5 reminds us we are part of something bigger than ourselves and we need each other.

No one person is called to do everything. You don’t have to respond to every support letter financially. You don’t have to make a meal for everyone who has a baby or experiences the loss of a loved one. Our senior pastor, Tom Tanner, says it best when he says,

Ask God what you’re supposed to do and do what He says.”

The last thing you need is to burden yourself with a list of shoulds you put on yourself or someone else puts on you. God will clearly direct you on where you’re to step in and where you’re to pull back and allow others to assist. Ask Him and don’t let others should on you, as an old college professor of mine used to say.

So, how are you today? Are you steady? Or are you in need? Either is okay. If you’re steady, be bold and sow into the life of someone around you in need. When your day of need comes, and it will come, they’ll be there for you.