When you just need a crutch

A rather traumatic event took place in my family during the past week.  Our younger daughter, Steph, and her husband and two young children were visiting our other daughter, Caz, in South Wales.  Whilst there, Steph managed to fall, fracturing her tibia and fibula in the process.  That was bad (and painful) enough, but the situation was complicated by the fact that Steph is almost 6 months pregnant.  She was taken to hospital and operated on; her leg is now in plaster.  After a couple of days in hospital she was eventually allowed to make the long and uncomfortable journey back home to Doncaster.

It will apparently be around 6 weeks before Steph is able to place any weight on her leg, followed by several further weeks of physio.  Clearly she will find it difficult to maneuvre herself around for some time, and will need support.  In view of her being pregnant, she has been given a zimmer frame for the time being.  Perhaps crutches will come later when she feels a little more confident and less in pain.

There are times when Christians are accused of being weak people.  "Your Christian faith is just a crutch!" is an accusation often heard.  No-one will find it strange to see Steph using a zimmer or crutches for physical support and to get around, in view of her current disability.  Why, then, should it be regarded as strange when we admit to needing support in other ways?

Indeed, there is a sense that admitting to weakness is a prerequisite to the Christian life.  The apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Christians in Corinth, writes about a particularly difficult issue which he had asked God to take away.  He then goes on, 'But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.' (2 Corinthians 12.9&10).  Paul discovered the wonderful truth that God's strength is most clearly experienced in and through our weaknesses.

The journey of Christian faith begins with a person coming to recognise their own weaknesses and inability to manage on their own.  In other words, we come to the point that we say to God, "I admit I've messed up, I admit I can't manage on my own and I need your help."  God graciously comes to our aid, and in our weakest moments gives us the strength we need to carry on.  I know that there have been certain times in my life when I would have been utterly lost without the knowledge of God's presence and his strength. I don't mind admitting that during those times I have leaned heavily on him.  Just as Steph would be foolish to attempt to move about without support, so it seems to me to be foolish to attempt the journey of life without relying on the One who gives life.

Of course God is far, far more than a support in times of need.  But I freely admit that there are many times when I need a 'crutch'!