Admitting our Need for Christ…

Personally, my biggest takeaway during Summer 2023 was that to lead well, it often means being willing to ask for help. The same goes for my relationship with Jesus and admitting my need for Him.

I’ll share a personal example of what I mean… 

It was halfway though a long tour, one of the most physically exhausting hikes of the program. Before the trip started, I had gone to extreme measures to make sure my team was prepared for the trip: 

Was each team member physically healthy? 

Does each member have the required gear? 

Most importantly, does everyone have rated sleeping bags and layers for cold temperatures? 

In my extensive checking to make sure others were prepared, I had forgotten a few of my own essential items.

One of these items was my hiking poles. 

Physically, I struggled on the second day. Because I had neglected to pack what I needed, I was unable to give my team members my full attention. I knew that if I had packed my poles I wouldn’t be struggling now. But inwardly, I was too stubborn to ask my team for help. 

We had an instructor meeting that night, and one of the leaders shared the importance of taking care of yourself in order to better serve others. His words really struck me. Though I knew it would show weakness, I asked one of the instructors if I could borrow their poles. 

Because of the kindness of my fellow instructor — I was able to power through the rest of the trip with the poles. The peace of mind knowing I myself was taken care of allowed me to be there for other members of my team when they needed help. 

This is like our relationship with Christ. 

Rather than relying on our own strength to power through, we should ask for help. We should continually ADMIT our need for him.  

During my Bible reading this week as I’m writing this (in February 2024), I happened to land in John 15. Coincidentally, one of my favorite passages.

In verse 5, Jesus says: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

When we don’t express our need for him — we are claiming that we can do it by our own strength, apart from Christ. In reality, apart from him we can do NOTHING. A bountiful harvest is only possible because of the vine that nurtures the fruit. A fruit will not continue to grow after being plucked off the tree.

To be a good leader for my team, I needed to start at the source. If I had never approached anyone with my need for hiking poles, I wouldn’t have gotten very far.

If we never admit our sinfulness, our failures and struggles to Jesus then we are striving to live outside of his nurturing care.

But, if I admit my need for Christ, the entire perspective changes. I am no longer living for myself, outside of Christ. I am living in Christ! I am not living for my own will, but Christ’s. This “oneness” is described beautifully by Jesus in John 17:23.

“The glory that you[the Father] have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,  I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

Admitting our need for Him starts at the moment of salvation — admitting our sin and need for a Savior. However, truly abiding in Him, and Him in us means continually admitting our need. This is not an act, but a mindset.

It is a continual laying my needs before the cross of Christ. It is a constant reliance on His strength. It is finding unconditional joy in the person of Jesus.

He who is God himself.

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