Helping Hands

When I turned 16, I obtained my hunter’s permit. This meant getting up early with my dad, heading over to my grandparents’ house for a quick breakfast, and going into the woods behind their house to hunt for deer. These were precious times with my dad and I have many memories from that and the following year. Two of them stand out above all others.

The first memory is being in the woods sitting on metal milk crates about 20 yards apart when a large doe walked up and stopped right between us. Neither of us had a doe permit and therefore we couldn’t shoot her. Almost as if she knew this, she looked at my dad, then at me, and kept walking. My dad gave me the “Can you believe that happened?” look.

The second memory had us walking in an area near my grandparents’ home. We were in a field coming up behind a pond. I noticed three hunters further up the field but didn’t think anything of it. All of a sudden, my dad puts his hand on my shoulder and nudges me to the ground. I trusted my dad completely and didn’t push back, rather I let his experience and knowledge guide me to the ground. After we were down, Dad told me that he saw the hunters raise their rifles. There was a gunshot but I don’t know which way it was aimed. My dad’s experience and skills let him see something I missed and safely position us on the ground.

In like manner, Jesus Christ’s hand is ready to help us. In “His Hand Ready to Help Us“, Elder Juan Pablo Villar states, “As we reach out to [Christ] in faith, He will always be there, and in His time, He will be ready and willing to grasp our hands and pull us up to a safe place.”

Just as my dad’s experience and knowledge helped him identify a potential issue while hunting, Jesus’s experience and knowledge can help us overcome potential problems in our lives. “His hand will always be there for us, even if we cannot see it or feel it at first, because He was chosen by our Heavenly Father to be our Savior, the Redeemer of all humankind.”

In John 16:33, Jesus states, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (emphasis added).

In overcoming the world, Jesus understands every trial, temptation, suffering, heartbreak, and all other emotions that lead us away from Him. He also understands every success, joy, triumph, and happiness—all things that lead us toward Him. This means that no matter what happens in our lives, He perfectly understands how we feel. He is capable of lifting us up when we need it. He is also the best companion who celebrates with us.

Helping Others

Near the end of His mortal ministry, Jesus stated to His disciples, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34-35).

I believe that there is a corollary to this well-known commandment. I believe that Jesus would also state something like, “As I have helped you, help one another.” This should be our goal when we see someone who is in need. We know that Jesus will be there but can we not also be there and show love through our help? Will not those we help know that we are disciples of Christ if we help one another?

When All Hope Is Gone

There are times when we feel that we are beyond redemption. Times where we feel like there is no way back to God. We feel we have screwed up so badly that there is no way Jesus or God will ever love us again.

Guess what? It’s a lie! The Savior never gives up on us. Even in our lowest place, He is there to lift us.

One of my favorite songs is by 3 Doors Down called “Away from the Sun.” The song is a powerful one talking about being away from the sun after doing something. I like to replace “Sun” with “Son” to remind me that Christ is the “[son] that shines into the darkest place.” He’s also the “[son] that shines to light the way for me, back into the arms that care about the ones like me.” There’s only one line I don’t agree with, “There’s nothing left to lift me up back into the world I know.” Christ is always there to lift us up back into His world.

Elder Villar states that “we will realize that our Savior will be there as many times as necessary to provide help if we want to learn, change, overcome, cope, or succeed in whatever will bring true and everlasting happiness in our lives.” He will be there!

Conclusion

If we trust our Savior, similar to how I trust my dad, He will always be there to help us. He will never leave us stranded. His hand can lift us out of the darkest places and into the light. We can help in this work by lending a hand to those who need it. In this way, we can show that we are His disciples. Christ will never give up on us, He will be there when we need Him.