One of my friends has always felt that she was a rescuer. She was becoming so stressed and burned out, that she felt the Lord was telling her to stop. However, I saw that being there for people in need was a part of who God made her to be, though there was a healthy way to do so.  I viewed my friend as being like a lifeboat. A lifeboat is a rescue vessel that saves people shipwrecked out at sea in order to carry them to the safety of shore.

A life boat was not designed to travel long distances or go on extended trips. When you have a heart to help those in need, make sure you are not turning yourself into a cruise ship. Those who you are helping may feel so safe with you that they may become dependent on you to carry them to each destination in their life.  To prevent this from happening, boundaries need to be placed.  Proverbs 31:20 says, “She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.”  We know that it is God’s will for there to be women in the body of Christ who are especially gifted to love and help those in need; as a matter of fact, it’s what we are all called to do.

Our goal should always be to work in conjunction with God, and to make sure that we are not fulfilling our own need to be loved or needed through helping others. When people who need love, patience, guidance, support, and yes, even prayer come to us, it is our opportunity to point them to the true source of their deliverance. We are vessels used by God to point them to Him through our love and service. As a life boat you are a vital part of the body, but drop the passengers off at the shore and let God do the rest.

Walk it out & Pray about it
There are several steps you can take to apply these principles in your daily life.

1.    Evaluate relationships in your life that have become cruise ship relationships.  Ask God for wisdom to help you to be a life boat, and then help them to shore.
2.    Search your heart for your motivations in helping others to make sure you are not fulfilling a need to be needed. If so repent! God understands.
3.    Make a list of healthy boundaries to keep you from becoming a cruise ship for the next person in need. Pray for strength and wisdom so that you make right choices in the future.

As you become healthy in this area, you will find that the gift God has given you to help others will not become a burden but a joy!

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