Devotional 28: When God Uses People to Carry You

What if one of the ways God answers our prayers is through people?

Many of us want God to make us stronger, more resilient, and more capable. But throughout Scripture, God often provides something different. He places people in our lives to help carry burdens, offer encouragement, speak truth, and remind us that we were never meant to walk through difficult seasons alone.

In this devotional, we'll explore what it means to receive the support God provides, why accepting help can sometimes feel harder than offering it, and how God's provision often arrives through ordinary people willing to show up and stay.

Because sometimes God's answer doesn't look like removing the burden.

Sometimes it looks like sending someone to help carry it.

Expanded Show Notes

Scripture

📖 Galatians 6:2

"Carry one another's burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

📖 Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

"Two are better than one..."

📖 Romans 12:15

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."

In This Devotional

Many of us have learned to associate strength with independence.

Being capable.

Being self-sufficient.

Being the one who helps everyone else.

But Scripture paints a different picture.

In this devotional, we explore:

• Why some burdens were never meant to be carried alone

• The difference between independence and strength

• How God often provides help through people

• Why receiving support can feel harder than offering it

• Looking back and recognizing the people who helped carry our story

• The gift of community in difficult seasons

Continue the Journey

If this devotional resonated with you, you may also enjoy:

🎧 Episode 28:
 Some People Share a Season. Some Share a Life

And this week's companion guide:

📘 Who Helps Carry Your Life?

You'll also find additional episodes, devotionals, companion guides, reflective workbooks, and resources on the website.

🌿 HealerHopeGiver.com

New long-form episodes release on Mondays.
New devotional episodes release on Thursdays.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Hey friends, have you ever tried to move a couch by yourself? Not slide it a few inches, not scoot it across the room, but I mean really move it. Around corners, through doorways, upstairs. At first it doesn't seem that difficult. You get one side lifted, you make a little progress, you convince yourself you've gotten this. And then eventually you reach a point where the truth becomes obvious. It wasn't designed for one person. It doesn't matter how determined you are or how capable you are, it doesn't matter how strong you are. Some things were never meant to be carried along. And I think life has a way of teaching us that same lesson. Because there are burdens we can carry by ourselves. Daily responsibilities, normal challenges, ordinary frustrations. But then there are other things. Grief, loss, heartbreak, fear, uncertainty, waiting, disappointment. Those burdens often feel less like carrying a backpack or like trying to move a couch up a staircase by yourself. And you don't hear Rob saying. Being independent, being self-sufficient, being a person everyone else can count on. But what if strength isn't about the absence of need? What if strength includes recognizing and receiving the support that God provides? And what if one of the ways God answers our prayers is through people? That's what I want us to explore today. Because when I look back over my life, I can see something now that I didn't always recognize in the moment. God often carried me through the people that He placed around me. One of my favorite verses about community is found in Galatians 6.2. Carry one another's burdens, and this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. I love how practical that verse is because Paul doesn't say notice one another's burdens. He doesn't say admire one another's burdens. He doesn't say wish one another well while they carry their own burdens. He says carry one another's burdens. The image itself tells us something important. It assumes that burdens exist. It assumes people struggle. It assumes seasons come that feel heavier than expected. And perhaps most importantly, it assumes we were never meant to carry everything by ourselves. Think about that for a moment. God could have designed life differently. Again and again we see people helping one another carry life what life places on their shoulders. Ecclesiastes 4 says, two are better than one. For if if either falls, his companion can lift him up. Notice it doesn't say if life becomes difficult. It says when. Because eventually every person falls somewhere. Every person encounters something they didn't expect. Every person walks through a season that feels heavier than they imagined. And God, in his infinite wisdom, designed people to help one another through those moments. Romans 12, 15 says, rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. In other words, don't just stand beside people, enter into what they're carrying, celebrate with them, grieve with them, walk with them, share the weight. And I wonder if sometimes we miss how extraordinary that really is. Because when we think about God's provision, we often imagine something miraculous, a breakthrough, an answer, a solution, a dramatic change in circumstances. But what if provision sometimes looks like a person? What if one of God's favorite ways to care for people is through other people? A phone call, a conversation, a meal, a prayer, a friend who sits beside you, a church family that refuses to let you walk through something alone. Maybe we've been looking for God's help in one direction while He's been sending it from another. As I've reflected over this on this over the years, I've noticed something. The hardest hardest seasons of my life are also filled with faces. When I think about infertility, I don't just remember the waiting, I remember the people. When I think about brain surgeries, I don't just remember the fear, I remember the people. When I think about grief, I don't just remember the loss, I remember people. And what's interesting is that I didn't always recognize it while I was living through it. When you're in the middle of a difficult season, your attention naturally focuses on the burden, the diagnosis, the uncertainty, the heartbreak, the unanswered questions, the thing that you're trying to survive. But years later, when you look back, something else becomes visible. You start seeing the people who were standing along the road, the friend who called, the person who prayed, the family member who stepped in, the church community that showed up, the conversation that arrived exactly at the right moment, the person who simply stayed. And sometimes I wonder if that is one of the gifts that perspective can give us. It allows us to see while that while we were focused on the burden, God was quietly surrounding us with people. Not people who could necessarily fix everything, but people who could help us carry it. And honestly, I think that's one of the most beautiful things about community. Most of the time, the people who help us don't remove the burden. They simply refuse to let us carry it alone. That's different. That's incredibly important because some burdens can't be solved. At least not immediately. Grief isn't solved, weighting isn't solved, loss is never solved. Certain questions aren't solved, but they can be shared. And sharing the weight often changes the experience of carrying it. It's the difference between carrying a heavy piece of furniture by yourself and having three people grab a corner. The furniture may weigh exactly the same, but suddenly the burden feels different. Not because it disappeared, but because someone helped to carry the weight of it. And looking back over my own life, I can see that God often cared for me that way through people, ordinary people, faithful people, people who probably had no idea idea how significant their presence would become years later. And maybe if you pause for a moment today, you'll see some too. The people who carried pieces of your story, the people who helped you through a season, the people who showed up when they didn't have to, the people who became part of the way that God cared for you, because sometimes God provision arrives wearing a familiar face. But if I'm honest, I don't think helping is usually the hardest part. I think receiving the help is, at least for many of us, because receiving help requires something most of us don't naturally enjoy. It requires admitting that we're carrying something heavy. It requires acknowledging that we can't do everything by ourselves. And for people who've spent years being dependable, responsible, capable, or strong, that can feel surprisingly uncomfortable. Maybe you've thought things like, I don't want to bother anybody. They have enough going on already. I should be able to handle this without needing help. I'll figure it out. I don't want to be a burden. And on the surface, those thoughts sound reasonable, even noble, but sometimes they're rooted in a belief that was never meant to guide us. The belief that needing help is weak. The belief that strength means carrying everything yourself. The belief that if you're struggling, you should just try harder. Yet we don't apply that logic everywhere else in life. Imagine someone breaking their leg. Nobody congratulates them for refusing crutches. Nobody says, you know what would show real strength? Walk on it anyway. That would be ridiculous. We understand that support is part of healing. We understand that temporary assistance doesn't mean failure. We understand that accepting help doesn't make someone weak. And yet emotionally, spiritually, and relationally, we often expect ourselves to do exactly that. We limp through difficult seasons while refusing support that God may have already provided. Not because the support isn't there, but because receiving it is uncomfortable. Because receiving it requires vulnerability. And sometimes it requires admitting that we are not as self-sufficient as we'd like to believe. I think about Moses in the Old Testament. There came that moment during battle when he literally became too tired to hold his arms up. Moses, the leader that God chose, the man used, God used in extraordinary ways. And what happened? Aaron and her came alongside him and held up his arms when he could no longer do it himself. I've always loved that picture. Because God didn't rebuke Moses for needing help. He provided, provided it. And maybe that's because even faithful people can get tired. Even strong people get weary. Even capable people reach the limits of what they can carry alone. Maybe that's not failure. Maybe that's simply part of being human. And perhaps one of the greatest acts of faith is recognizing when God is providing support through the people around us. Because if God often works through people, then receiving help isn't weakness. It's receiving one of the ways that God cares for us. It's recognizing that His provision doesn't always arrive as a miracle. Sometimes it arrives as a meal, a phone call, a friend, a conversation, a prayer, a person willing to sit beside us to help carry what feels too heavy. And maybe the support we've been heavy hesitant to accept isn't an interruption to God's provision. Maybe it is God's provision. As I sit with all of this, I find myself wondering how many gifts from God I've almost missed because they arrived through people. How many answers to prayer look different than I expected? How many moments of care came wrapped in ordinary conversations? How many reminders of God's presence arrived through someone else's willingness to show up? Because I think sometimes we pray for strength and expect God to make us stronger. And sometimes he does, but sometimes he sends people. Sometimes we pray for comfort and he sends a friend. Sometimes we pray for wisdom and he sends a conversation. Sometimes we pray for encouragement and he sends a text message. Sometimes we pray for help and he sends someone willing to carry a corner of the burden. The older I get, the more convinced I become that community is one of God's greatest gifts. Not perfect community, not flawless people, just ordinary people showing up for one another. People who don't always have answers, people who can't always fix things, people who simply choose to stay. And perhaps that's what makes their presence so meaningful. Because love often looks less like showing and or lore less like solving, sorry, and more like staying, less like fixing and more like carrying, less like having the right words and more like refusing to leave. So today I want to invite you to pause and reflect. Who comes to mind when you think about the people who helped to carry your burdens? Who were the faces woven into the difficult chapters of your story? Who showed up? Who stayed? Who prayed? Who listened? Who helped carry something that would have been much heavier alone? Spend a moment thanking God for these people. Not because they're perfect, but because He used them. Then ask yourself another question. Is there someone God may be inviting you to lean on right now? Someone you've been hesitant to call, someone you've been reluctant to talk to, someone you've quietly convinced yourself you don't you shouldn't need. Because perhaps one of the reasons God placed them in your life is for this exact season. And one final question Who might need your support today? Who's carrying something heavy right now? Who may need a phone call, a prayer, a conversation, a reminder that they are not alone? Because sometimes we're the ones being carried, and sometimes we're the ones helping carry someone else. Both matter, both are holy, both are part of the way that God designed his people to live. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for never asking us to walk through life alone. Thank you for being a God who sees us, cares for us, and provides for us in ways we don't always recognize. So often we pray for strength and we expect you to make us stronger. We pray for help and we expect you to remove the burden. We pray for comfort and we expect you to change the circumstances. Yet sometimes you answer through people, through a conversation, through a friend, through a family member, through a church community, through someone willing to show up and help carry what feels too heavy for us alone. Lord, help us to recognize those gifts when they come. Help us to see your provision, even when it re arrives wearing a familiar face. Forgive us for the times we've mistaken independence for strength. Forgive us for the times we've resisted help because we didn't want to seem needy, weak, or burdensome. Teach us that receiving support is not failure. Teach us that vulnerability is not weakness. Teach us that you often work through the people you place around us. And today we we thank you for those people, for the friends who stayed, for the family members who helped carry different seas difficult seasons, for the member mentors who spoke truth when we needed it, for the communities that reminded us we weren't alone, for the people who prayed for us, encouraged us, and helped shoulder the shoulder the burdens we couldn't carry by ourselves. Bless them, Lord. Encourage them the way they encouraged us, strengthen them the way they strengthened us, and help us to become the kinds of people for others. Open your eyes to those who may be struggling quietly. Show us where we can offer comfort and support. Give us the courage to show up, the wisdom to listen, and the compassion to stay. And when we find ourselves carrying something heavy, remind us we do not have to carry it alone. Thank you for being the God who carries us, and thank you for the people you use along the way. In Jesus' name, amen. Before we go today, I'd love to leave you with a blessing. May you remember that you were never meant to carry every burden by yourself. May you find freedom from the belief that strength means handling everything alone. May God gently remind you that needing support is not weakness. It is part of being human, and it is part of how he designed us to live. May He bring to mind people who have helped carry your story, the people who prayed when you didn't know what to pray, the people who listened when you didn't when you needed someone to hear your heart, the people who showed up when life felt heavy, the people who stayed when they could have walked away. May gratitude fill your heart as you recognize the many ways God care has cared for you through others. And for those who are carrying something especially heavy right now, may you know that God sees it. May you know that he cares. May you know that you do not have to earn his help. May you know that you do not have to prove your strength. May you know that being weary does not make you a failure. And may you have the courage to receive the support that he provides. Whether it arrives through a friend, a spouse, a family member, a pastor, a mentor, a church community, or simply a conversation at exactly the right moment, may you recognize God's provision even when it arrives wearing a familiar face. And may you find peace in knowing that the God who asks us to carry one another's burdens is the same God who promises to carry us. Amen. If today's devotional resonated with you, I'd encourage you to spend a little time reflecting on the people who have helped shape your story. Not just the people who stayed forever, but the people who shared a season, the people who offered encouragement, the people who carried part of the weight, the people God used to remind you that you weren't alone. Sometimes we don't fully recognize those gifts until we look back. And sometimes gratitude grows when we pause long enough to notice them. If you'd like to explore this more deeply, I've created a companion guide called Who Care Helps Care Your Life. It is designed to help you reflect on the relationships that have supported you through different seasons and recognizes and to recognize the way that God has often worked for people. And if you're newer to the podcast, you may also enjoy this week's On episode. Some people share a season and some share a life. Along with other episodes, devotionals, companion guides, reflective workbooks. Resources are available on the website www.kealerpopegiver.com. Because healing rarely happens in isolation, and neither does growth. Sometimes one of the greatest gifts God gives us is simply someone willing to walk beside us for a while. Thank you for spending this time with me today, friends. If this devotional encouraged you, I'd love for you to follow the podcast of your favorite podcast app so you don't miss future episodes. And if someone finds my favorite side today, consider sharing this episode with them. You never know how much simple my heart can be. You can find this week's companion guide, Task Episode's devotional. Reflective workbooks. Guided Healing Workbooks and additional resources on the Healer and Hope Giver website, www.healerhoopgiver.com. And until next time, friend, take a moment to thank God for the people who helped carry your story. And if you're carrying something heavy right now, remember this you were never meant to carry it alone. I'll see you Monday.