Learn from the Dogs - Ask for Help

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:20 (NIV)

Creation reveals so much about God, and I believe dogs are no exception. Recently, I came across this news video which applauded dogs for knowing when to ask for help when faced with an impossible task. We as Christians tend to think that it’s embarrassing or shameful to ask for help and yet, the dogs in this video show us that there’s nothing shameful about it at all. In fact, the news clip stated that the dogs were “smart” enough to know when to ask their masters for help.

Whether in work, relationships, or our own spiritual walk, Christ followers are regularly faced with impossible situations – probably more than we realize. But are we as smart as the dogs in knowing when to ask our Master in Heaven for help? Here are some things for us to consider:

Do we acknowledge when we’re trying to do the impossible?

The dogs in the news clip were smart enough to recognize when they were trying to do something that couldn’t be done. When Christians try to do the impossible, we have a tendency to ignore the obvious. We keep trying to power through and to rely on our own strength to get the job done. Are we willing to admit when something is impossible for us and instead look to God for help?

Even Jesus said in John 5:19 (NIV) that He “can do nothing by Himself…” If Jesus couldn’t even do something on His own, why do we think we can do better? When trying to do the impossible, we need to recognize and admit that it’s something that we can’t do with our own strength and wisdom.

Are we willing to humble ourselves and ask for help? 

This one is really hard for Christ followers to do, including yours truly. Rather than admitting to our inabilities, we’d rather keep trying to do things ourselves so that we can ultimately achieve what we’re trying to do. We want that sense of pride and accomplishment when we’ve achieved it. But whose glory is all of this about anyway?

Romans 11:36 (NIV) tells us that “…from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever!” If our purpose is to glorify God, then we need to willingly lay down our desire for recognition and allow God to step in and be the hero. James 4:6 (NASB) says that “God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble.” When facing the impossible, let’s humble ourselves so that we can receive God’s grace and see the way He overcomes it.

Are we being persistent in asking our Heavenly Master for help?

The news clip gave me a laugh when it talked about the dogs staring down their master in order to beg for help. If you’re a dog owner, you know exactly what this is like and how effective it is. When we as Christians face an impossible task, how well are we staring down our Master pleading for His intervention?

God doesn’t mind persistent, repeated prayers. The Parable of the Persistent Widow in Luke 18:1-8 is proof of that. In fact, I think God wants us to come to Him over and over for help, because every time we do, we’re reminding ourselves that we can’t do the impossible ourselves. We need Him to do it.

Just because God gave humans dominion over creation doesn’t mean we can’t learn from creation. And when the creation reveals God’s truths, we have no excuse but to live accordingly. Let’s learn from the dogs. Let’s be willing to recognize when we’re faced with the impossible, let’s humble ourselves to ask God for help, and let’s be persistent in seeking His assistance.

And the next time your dog is barking at you, remember he’s asking for your help, and his willingness to ask is an example you should follow.