Something puzzling happened this morning. Someone came by to talk with us. He introduced himself, and though I don't remember his name, I remember his stated purpose for the visit: "I'm here to make sure you have all the help you need."
Wait. Why would the man think that I needed help? I was perfectly fine! I have never needed help in my life! If I need anything, my wife helps me!
I couldn't think of a response, so I just sat there with a puzzled expression on my face.
Things got even more puzzling then. My wife turned to me and said, "Actually he's here to see that I have all the help I need!"
Wait. Why would my wife need help? She is the most independent, self-sufficient person I've ever met! She doesn't even like getting help! Besides, we are doing just fine! When I need to be fed, she feeds me. When I am thirsty she gives me something to drink. When I am dirty or wet, she cleans and changes me. She makes sure I get my pills, that I always have clean clothing, that I get enough sleep, that my house is clean. Why would she need help???
Of course, I have no concept of what they call "caregiver burnout". In my mind, my wife is only doing what she's always done for me, and because she takes such good care of me, I actually don't really even realize that it's making more work than it used to, or that she could be getting burned out...
But then, there are times when all of us are unaware of our true needs. The best example of this is our need for Jesus. I just read a scary statistic: "More Than a Third of Gen Z Identifies as Religiously Unaffiliated. It's not only a lack of religious affiliation that distinguishes Generation Z. They are also far more likely to identify as atheist or agnostic. Eighteen percent of Gen Z affirmatively identify as either atheist (9 percent) or agnostic (9 percent)." The Survey center of American Life
Wow!
The Bible tells us: "So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority." (Colossians 2:10 NLT). This means that we are only complete in Christ! It means that unbelievers all have a God-sized hole in their hearts. They strive to fill it with other things: Work, relationships, worldly gain, fame, etc., and some even try to fill it with chemical substances. The problem is, they don't necessarily recognize that they have this need, and as such, they don't seek to fill it with the right things!
Just like I don't recognize my level of care needs and my wife's need of support against caretaker burn-out, the majority of the unbelieving world doesn't recognize there is a problem, and they certainly don't feel that Jesus is the solution to this "non-problem"!
Fortunately for my wife, who apparently truly is struggling with burn-out, I don't need to understand her need. Help is simply being sent. With the unbelievers, however, they do need to recognize their need before they can find the One true Solution. And there is only one thing that can help them: God's Spirit! "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." (John 16:13 NIV). It is, after all, His role to convict us of our need: "When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment..." (John 16:8 NIV)
So if it is the job of the Holy Spirit, we don’t need to worry, right?
The Apostle Paul encourages us to pray, "Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation." (Romans 10:1 NASB).
The Bible also says they need to be told: "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" (romans 18:15 NIV)
The best thing we can do, then, for these unbelievers who don't even see the need for God, is to pray for their hearts to be opened to the truth of their status, and to seek opportunities to share our faith!
Several years ago, someone I know expressed the desire to get to know God. My wife and I went out of our way to encourage this person, but their interest died in a matter of days. My wife and I continued to try to be good examples for this person, but most importantly, we started to pray. Imagine our delight, years later, to learn that this person and family had not only started attending church, but had given their hearts to Jesus and were seeking baptism. And even more, they were visibly on-fire for Jesus.
Now I'm not saying that this happened only as a result of our prayers, but our prayers contributed, and in part, because we prayed and tried to be good examples of Jesus, there is another family in God's kingdom.
It is true that my wife could have respected my decision that I didn't need help. If that were the case, however, she would have ended up in burnout very early on, and then I wouldn't have received my care. Let's not blindly accept people's beliefs that they don't need Jesus. Let's pray for them and do everything in our power to be examples of Christ for them. We never know when that will be the fuel that opens their hearts to God's Spirit and calls them home!
Inspired by Rob Chaffart
Founder, Answers2Prayer Ministries
