Why Do I Ask for Help but Struggle to Follow Through?

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to ask for help and how difficult it can be to actually act on it?  Imagine someone who is extremely thirsty.  They come to you and say  "I'm desperate. Can I have a glass of water?"  You gladly hand them a cold, refreshing glass of water.  They take it, and stand there, and never drink it.  Eventually you find yourself wondering,  "You asked for the water...why aren't you drinking it?"  As strange as that sounds, I wonder if we sometimes approach spiritual growth the same way.  We ask for answers.  We ask for help.  We pray for wisdom.  We search for guidance.  Then someone offers us something that could genuinely help and we never really do anything with it.  Why?

Sometimes We Want the Result More Than the Process

I don't think most people are looking for bad advice.  I think they're looking for quick relief.  There's a difference.  We want to:

• understand the Bible
• have a stronger marriage
• grow spiritually
• follow Jesus more closely
• find peace

Those are wonderful desires.  But each of those outcomes requires a process.  Learning, practicing., changing and growing,  the process is rarely as exciting as the result.

Information Isn't Transformation

One of the biggest misconceptions in Christianity is that hearing good teaching automatically changes us.  It doesn't.  Knowing more isn't the same as becoming different.  You can read a book about forgiveness and still refuse to forgive.  You can attend a Bible study every week and never allow God's story to reshape the way you think.  You can know exactly what Jesus taught without ever putting those teachings into practice.  Information is important.  But information alone doesn't transform us.

Following Jesus Requires Participation

No one can grow for you.  People can encourage you, they can teach you, challenge you and point you in the right direction.  They can even hand you the water.  But they can't drink it for you.  Following Jesus has always involved participation.  Listening, practicing, failing, learning and growing.  The answers matter.  But eventually every answer asks something of us.

Maybe We're Asking the Wrong Question

Instead of asking,  "Where can I find the answer?"  perhaps we should also ask,  "Am I willing to let this answer change me?"  Those are two very different questions.  The first is about information.  The second is about transformation.

Drinking the Water

The Berean Project exists because we believe better questions lead to deeper understanding.  But understanding isn't the finish line.  It's the starting line.  The goal isn't simply to collect better ideas.  The goal is to become more like Jesus.  That means there comes a moment when we stop collecting information and start living differently because of it.  That's when the water finally gets drunk.