That's right! Just as I analyzed Blessings this summer, let's look at the deeper messages behind Help Me Find It, by the Sidewalk Prophets
Their fan club is a for-prophet organization
I don't know where to go from here
It all used to seem so clear
I'm finding I can't do this on my own
I don't know where to go from here
As long as I know that you are near
I'm done fighting
I'm finally letting go
I think right off the bat, a lot of us can sympathize. It makes it clear that we're not at the beginning. We've already come a long way. And, up until now, it's been fairly easy.
That's one of those experiences I think we can all relate to in one way or another. We all hit that point where it stops being easy...we don't know what to do. We all reach a day where suddenly we feel the world on our shoulders. If life is a video game, the tutorial is over. If we're bowling then the bumpers are down.
To some degree, we all want to be self-sufficient. Whether it's a little kid who is determined to finish their art project by themselves or the stubborn adult who doesn't want to go to the doctor or ask for directions, we all want to think we can take care of ourselves. We all want to believe we don't have to rely on anybody else, but we all hit that point where we realize that's just not the case. We need God. We need others. I'm finding I can't do this on my own.
That's the point where we give up. And make no mistake, everybody gives up. Some give up to despair. They let the darkness in and they stop fighting against it. Others...they give up to God. They let His love in, and they stop fighting His will. I don't think I have to tell you which one is preferable. I'm finally letting go.
So we start off in darkness, reminiscing about "the easy days". We're questioning. We're unsure. We're lost and scared and maybe for the first time we're recognizing our own helplessness. Let me tell you, that's not a fun point to be at. But, if we give up to God, if we surrender ourselves and let go, we can declare:
I will trust in you
You've never failed before
I will trust in you
And really, sometimes we forget that simple fact: You've never failed before. Maybe it's part of our desire to be self-sufficient - we look for any excuse not to trust God. We know we can't trust people because people are fallible...but that excuse doesn't work for God. You've never failed before. We have no reason not to trust a perfect, loving God. Why is it so difficult? Despite that difficulty, if we trust God we can say:
If there's a road I should walk,
Help me find it
If I need to be still,
Give me peace for the moment
Whatever your will
Whatever your will
Can you help me find it
Can you help me find it
This is, in my opinion, the part of the song that stands out. Because it is one of the few songs I've heard that rejects either extreme of trusting God. It seems, in my experience, people either rely on God too much or not enough. Too many of us want to be self-sufficient. We don't want to need God. We want to do everything ourselves and never admit we need help. That's bad.
But then you have people who, in rejecting that, go to the complete opposite extreme. It's not that they trust God too much, it's that they rely on him to do everything. These are the people that discern so much, they discern about discerning. Even worse, these are the people that pray for whatever is wrong in their life and then don't do anything. I've seen too many stories in the news of children that have died because their parents refused to take them to a doctor because they "relied on prayer" and "knew that God would heal him". Well, maybe God was trying but you wouldn't take him to the hospital.
Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with prayer. We should pray for everything we need. St. Paul said "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6) and again "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." (Colossians 4:2). We are supposed to pray for everything we need, but we can't stop there. We need to do something.
And that's what I like about this song. It's not saying "Make me walk on the right road" or even "Show me what road you want me to walk on"...it's saying "Help me find it". It's prayer - it's asking God for help - but it's not asking God to do it for us. It's asking for homework help without expecting the answer just given to us.
I'm not going to lie, that's a trap I fall in often. I pray so much that God just tells me what I'm supposed to do already. Seriously, God, just give me a sign or something. And it's really tempting to pray like that because that makes it easy. Sure, you tell me what you want I'll do it without thinking...but trying to figure out what God wants is the tough part. We're crippled more by uncertainty than any other obstacle. "Wait, you're going to trust what I think you want?"
It's scary. But God isn't content to let us be scared, because "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). So whenever we give him bad, he turns it to good. We give him mistakes, he makes them lessons. We give him nails, he makes them salvation.
I'm giving you fear and you give faith
I'm giving you doubt you give me grace
For every step I've never been alone
Even when it hurts you have your way
Even in the valley I will say
With every breath, you've never let me go
I will wait for you
You've never failed before
I will wait for you
God takes our fear and "gives faith". Grace overcomes the doubt and we aren't afraid anymore. That's what gives us the courage to stick with it even when it hurts. Even "in the valley". God has taken all of our fear and turned it into trust and faith. Now we know that God will "never let me go". We know he will help us, which is how we "wait for you".
See, at the beginning of the song we were overwhelmed by our doubts and fears and confusion. Now that we have surrendered to God's will, we can say things like "I will wait for you" without being afraid. We can look for that path, not despairing (or letting God do all the work).
That faith, that grace, that love all leads us to fully trust God. It lets us abandon ourselves as nothing, to be filled up. It helps us surrender to God, rely on God and be strengthened by God so that we can do anything. We will be made new.
I lift my empty hands (come fill me up again)
Have your way my king (I give my all to you)
I lift my eyes again (Was blind but now I see)
Cause you are all I need
Cause you are all I need
Trusting God doesn't mean just sitting until God figures it all out. It means taking an active role in our own lives. But, at the same time, it means not thinking we can do everything by ourselves. It means recognizing that we need help, but not counting on that help doing everything because frankly we learn nothing that way. If God just gave us the answers and did it all for us, we wouldn't learn anything...and our dignity means we deserve more than that.
When we pray, we shouldn't for one second pretend we can do everything. But we also can't ask that God do everything. He will help, he wants to help...but you have to do your part. If we do, our fears will be wiped out. Our doubts and pains and uncertainties and all of that dark stuff taking up room in our heads will be completely gone...but first we have to trust God.
That's what gives us the courage to say, whether it's the tiny day-to-day issues that get us down or the big picture of our lives, we know that God has a plan for us...and our prayer should be "Help me find it"
This came up when I googled "Help me find it"
I don't know why.
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