Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. – Psalm 124:8 NKJV. 

I rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help; I hope in Your word. – Psalm 119:147 NKJV. 

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. – Hebrews 4:16 NKJV. 

We often hear advice such as if you fall down, get back up, or if life throws you off, get back on the horse. If you do a google search for the phrase “get back on the horse” you will find more than three million results. Recently, talking with a friend I recalled the first time I rode a horse. It was a very short ride!  

When I was about eight years old my family was visiting at my Aunt and Uncle’s home. They had several horses on their farm; and my two cousins who were older, saddled up horses for them, my sister, and for me. The cousins and my sister did not want me to go with them, but my Aunt and Uncle made them saddle another horse for me. As soon as we were all on our horses the cousins and my sister took off at a gallop, and my horse took off too. My horse, instead of following the others, headed directly for a tree and for a low hanging limb where my ride abruptly ended with me falling to the ground. The horse took off, and there was no way for me to get back on the horse again. 

December is the time of the year when many are thrown off the horse of life. Merle Haggard says in one of his songs, “If we make it through December, Everything's gonna be all right….” December can be difficult with what should be a joyous Christmas season instead bringing to mind painful memories and failures of the past. In Haggard’s song he has been laid off from a job at a factory. Early in my marriage I was laid off three different times from jobs in a year’s time. One of those times was just a few days before Christmas. An elderly man recently shared with me about how his Mother had suddenly passed away when he was only ten years old. His parents had already bought the Christmas presents and they were under the tree. This is a sad memory that comes around every year in December. Many have similar memories, or memories of family squabbles that occurred during times when families were together for the holiday. 

The point of all of this is that it may not be possible for us to get back on the horse unless we have some help. It’s okay to ask for help! It’s okay to ask for help from a friend, or from a doctor, or a counselor. And, certainly it is okay to ask for help from God!