Finding Support

Finding Support

Bible Reading: Galatians 6:1-5

We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

For some of us the higher Power we turn to first is the power of something we can see and feel. When we find a group of supportive people, who understand our struggle and care about our recovery, we can turn to them to help us on the road toward restoration.

The apostle Paul wrote about the value of people helping people. He instructed, if someone “is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself” (Galatians 6:1). Some versions say, “restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness” (NKJV). In the original biblical language, the word restore means to allow a broken bone to set and heal properly. Paul was calling to mind a picture of people lifting up and carrying a person who had been injured. It implies that they will continue to uphold the suffering person until the injury has had time to heal.

We can’t recover all alone any more than someone with a broken leg can heal properly while walking around without any support. We need support from people who are willing to gently bear us up and walk beside us until we’ve had time to heal.

The verse warns those giving the support that they should remember their own capacity for falling. It is important for us to turn to people who have some understanding of their own brokenness, who will be able to act in a “spirit of gentleness.”

No one is ever independent enough to not need help from others.