Read (from the New Living Translation)

²⁴ Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. ²⁵ And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

³⁹ But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.

Hebrews 10:24-25, 39

Go Deep

This one is so important and so easily overlooked. Bekah from The Wally Show opens up about the lie she had to stop believing during this difficult year in her life.

“I’m exhausted. Everything is slipping through the cracks. I just can’t keep up!”

How many times have you said something similar? I’ve said it a lot this year.

As my little family rides the roller coaster of my husband’s health problems, I often feel stretched thin. It’s hard to focus at work. We’re almost always in the middle of a game of phone tag with doctors or insurance. Every weekend is a battle of whether or not to take him back to the emergency room. My body hurts from all the nights spent in the hospital.

The people pleaser in me constantly feels inadequate when faced with a hundred different opinions of well-intentioned friends and family members.

And the craziest part of all of it? I don’t have to feel this way! Almost every day, people who care about us ask how they can help. Every time, I answer, “Oh we’re good. I’m ok…”

….which is a terrible lie.

Over the past few months, when people saw through my fake answer and cooked us a meal or sent us a gift card, I’d weep in private. It always happened when I was on the edge of another breaking point that they couldn’t have known about because I insisted I was ok—my husband Joey was the sick one.

It took me too long to learn that God created us to live in community. We aren’t meant to live on an island of emotional and physical exhaustion.

When I finally started letting others help, it lifted a burden off of my shoulders, and helped them by letting them do what they felt called to do in the first place.

It was a rough lesson but a good one, especially as others around me face their own battles. From my family’s struggles, I learned that a meal, or a $10 gift card, or a simple act of service can go a very long way when you feel you have nothing left to give.

I’m trying to get better at extending that help when I recognize a need, because I know we’re meant to lean on each other when life happens.

Notes from the Beyond Suffering Bible

Balm for the Hurting Soul – When life gets tough, we need a support network. We need to help others and be willing to receive help from others. A true fellowship of believers, where there is an equal exchange of love and encouragement, can be a balm to the hurting soul. Don’t let Satan isolate you or someone else you know! Who could you reach out to today?

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