A Helping Hand: How do we find joy in life?

How do we fill people around us with hope? The world around us is full of people who are suffering from grief, depression, anxiety, worry, strained relationships, etc. How can we lift them up?

Last weekend I watched my youngest grandson play in a baseball game. After the game, I saw him across the field talking to one of his teammates. When he came over to where I was sitting, I asked him what they were talking about. He said, “I threw a ball from short to first base, and he tried to catch it up by his face with his glove facing up. I showed him how to catch it so that it doesn’t bounce off his glove and hit his face." I told Theo that that was very nice of him, and he said, “It makes me happy to help others.”

An ancient proverb goes something like this. If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. But if you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.

The world today tries to tell us that we can feel better about ourselves by buying something, trying a popular self-care treatment, or changing something about our physical appearance. Those things might elevate our emotions, but they are temporary and superficial. Permanent joy comes into our lives by helping others.

The term “helpers high” was coined in the late 1980’s when studies confirmed that positive emotions follow selfless service to others. And the studies kept coming! Research in neuroscience and psychology continues to support the theory that helping others brings happiness our way. When we feel depressed, lonely, or disappointed our impulse is to wallow in those feelings. But when we shift our focus onto others and do something for someone else, our own spirits get lifted in the process and this feeds our soul. Helping others fosters a spirit of gratitude. It pushes us outside of our bubble and into humanity.

A while back, I read about a man who was stuck in traffic on an interstate when he noticed what everyone was looking at—a vehicle sinking in a nearby pond. He leaped from his car jumped into the pond and found a panicked woman in the car who was stuck in the front seat. He pulled her from the seat and swam her 50 feet to the shore. The woman was pregnant and hours after the rescue she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. One unselfish act saved two lives!

It is our job as faith driven people to keep our eyes out for drowning people. They may be drowning in debt, unforgiveness, grief, worry, anxiety, strained relationships, uncertainty, or drowning in sorrow or depression, or drowning in sin. Remember when Peter was sinking beneath the waves? Jesus reached down and pulled him up.

Later Peter stretched out his hand to a lame man. Pulled him to his feet and the man began walking and leaping for joy and praising God.

The same God who knew how to pull Peter from the overwhelming waves can empower us to pull people from their bad places in life. As we attempt to live our lives as Christ did, we have the responsibility of looking out for the interest of others. We need to ask Him every day to show us ways to pull others up.

Billy Graham once said, “The Bible teaches us that we have a Christian duty to help our neighbors in a time of need. We are called by God to bring the water of soul and body.”

I said to Theo, “Theo, you are really good at baseball." He answered, "Yeah, I am good at all my sports: baseball, football and basketball." Mentally, I was all set to give him the lecture about humility. But then he said, "That’s why I need to help others." So, I asked him, "What made you decide that?" He said, "My Sunday school teacher keeps telling me. She says to those who have been given much, much is expected. And God made me this way, so I should share it. Right, Grampa?"

As you go out today, realize that others will know that we are Christians by how we love them; by how we treat others, and by how we help others. Not by our T-shirts. Not by how many scriptures we post on social media. Not by our WWJD bracelet. Scripture says be joyful in hope, and the best way I know how to be joyful is to help others.