Not All Who Need Help Cry Out

"I would have you know my mind, and by knowing it, understand that I wish only to help you."
Fin felt her jaw tighten and had to force herself to relax. "I don't need your help."
"So you have said." Jeannot touched the welt under his eye. "But not all who need help cry out."
-"Fiddler's Green", A.S. Peterson

I just finished reading this book, Fiddler's Green. It's a beautifully written adventure story where the main character, Fin, (a redhead!) starts off as a tough-headed, misguided, selfish pirate, but through the course of the hardships she and her ship's crew endure, and the patience and compassion of Jeannot, she ends up saving people from slavery and earning herself a much improved character with compassion.
This little section of dialogue really struck me as I read. I saw some deeper things going on here. Jeannot is a knight from Malta and he represents the dying order of good, moral, and just actions. He is just trying to help Fin, and yet she doesn't want to admit she needs help. She's living in this little bubble of denial.

How many of us live in denial that we need help? It's not the kind of help we need when we need a ride to work. But it's a deeper kind of help we need for our souls. We enter dark times of struggle and we need sustenance to get through the stretch of time. Lent is a season where we focus on the dark times before Easter morning. Where we think about the sacrifice and suffering of Jesus. The simple fact is, Jesus is just trying to help us, and we tend to be the stubborn souls living in denial.

The purpose of the darkness is to prepare us for the dawn. And the dawn comes on Easter when the tomb is empty and everything is changed. Doubts are stripped away as all that was foretold came true.

Jesus said, "Don't be afraid, only believe." Mark 5.36

He understands us and knows what is best for us. Ephesians 1.8