Have you ever found yourself in a helpless situation? A place where you needed help and no one was there to give you the needed help? Well, I have been in that situation and I know how it feels to be abandoned and rejected.

Jesus tells us the story of the traveler who was waylaid by robbers on the way. He was stripped of all that he had, was beaten and left for dead. We are not told when the incident happened but what we know is that after the man had been left for a while, people began to pass by.
The first person mentioned was a priest. People in the office of a priest are expected to be compassionate and kind. The Bible tells us that we do not have a high priest who cannot be touched by our weakness (Heb 4:15). When the priest saw the wounded man, he acted contrary to the characteristic of his office; he crossed over to the other side of the road. Was he in a hurry to make his priestly appointment at the temple?

The second person was a Levite. A Levite was also a temple official who rendered assistance to the priests as they carried out their duties. While the priest probably saw the wounded man from a distance and crossed to the other side, the Levite actually went to have a closer look at the man. He must have heard the man groaning and yet he left him and continued on his journey.

The last person was a Samaritan. A Samaritan had no dealings with Jews and would have been justified if he had passed by the man without offering any help but he of all people was the one who stopped, gave the man first aid and took him to a nursing home where he requested that the man be treated and the bill passed on to him.

This story reminds me what the Lord Jesus did for us. We were sinners, enemies of God and deserving of His judgment. We were at the mercy of the devil whose main preoccupation is to kill, to steal and to destroy (John 10:10). Jesus came to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those that are bound (Isaiah 61:1). The Psalmist declared that the Lord heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds (Ps 147:3)

No matter what circumstances you may be faced with today and everything seems hopeless, look up to the Lord because that is where your help comes from (Ps 121:1). Men will fail you, they will even avoid and reject you in your time of trouble but there is one person who cannot afford to watch you suffer. He knows how it feels to be in pain, rejected and heart broken. He will not just pass by and watch you in your trouble, He is willing and able to give you the help that you need at just the right time.

When next time you feel helpless and there seems to be no hope in sight, remember, Jesus is your help!

Steve O. Popoola

Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the webmaster of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. He currently resides in London where he works as an IT professional. He serves in the ministerial team of his local church as well as in the music ministry. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.org