“Help! I need help!”

I have cried this desperate plea more than once. Sometimes as a Mom or a wife. Or over finances. Or about health. Or for relationships that are going sideways. Sometimes it is just because I am drowning in multitudes of minutia. If you asked me, “What do you need help with,” I might not be able to answer. I just know I NEED help or I will go under.

I need a Rescuer. I need a Savior. I need Help.

Thankfully, my Lord is my Helper. So no matter what, or who, I am up against, I don’t need to fear. Because my Jesus is there helping me.

• So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6 ESV)

Many times on the the path of my life I have stumbled. I have veered off course or been tripped. Whether it was my fault or someone else’s, it hurt when I found myself on the ground. But, I have help when I fall. Just like when I hold my falsely-confident toddler’s hand, the one who was sure he could “do it myself,” who I just saved from doing a face-plant on the sidewalk. Just like that, my Lord is my Helper, holding my hand, keeping me from disaster.

• The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand. (Psalm 37:23-24 ESV)

When I am faced with decisions and the best answer remains hidden, I need help. So I am thankful that when I need wisdom, counsel, and instruction, I have Help.

• For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him. ... This also comes from the LORD of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom. (Isaiah 28:26, 29 ESV)

• If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5 ESV)

Sometimes life is overwhelmingly difficult or sad. My heart becomes heavy when tragedy strikes. A young father dies in a car wreck. A teenager chooses drugs over a loving home. A marriage implodes. A business fails. It seems too difficult to draw breath, but I can still manage a whispered, “Help.” And my Helper holds me.

• If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, "My foot slips," your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. (Psalm 94:17-19 ESV)

My problems can result from my own bad decisions or someone else’s. This is a fallen world where, until the Lord comes back, sin regularly rears its ugly head. Evil surges forth at times, trying to drown out all good. But just as Betsie ten Boom said, as she was dying in one of Hitler’s concentration camps, “There is no pit so deep, that God is not deeper still.” No matter our physical surroundings, our Lord is our Helper right smack dab in the middle of it all.

• He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. (Psalm 18:16-19 ESV)

Physical illness zaps us, not just bodily, but mentally and emotionally as well. Even on our sickbed, our Helper remains at our side, sustaining us. The Lord can and often does heal. Though He does not chose to heal everyone, His promise of full restoration is certain, even if it means a heavenly one.

• the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. (Psalm 41:2-3 ESV)

We praised one way the Lord is our Helper yesterday. He fights for us!

• "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles." And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. (2 Chronicles 32:7-8 ESV)

Our Lord, in His role of the Holy Spirit, names Himself as our Helper who will dwell in us when we give our lives to Jesus. What a blessed mystery worthy of praise.

• And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. ... But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:16-17, 26 ESV)

In the interest of not having this devotion be too long, I tried to cut the following verses. But I couldn’t. They bring me so much joy, I simply MUST burst into praise. So I am sharing them with you! Just read them and marinate in the truth of your Help. He is extraordinary.

• The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him. (Psalm 37:40 ESV)

• God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1 ESV)

• Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. ... With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good. (Psalm 54:4, 6 ESV)

• My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, ... for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:5, 7-8 ESV)

Let’s sing for joy for our Helper!

Prayer

Oh Lord, thank You for not condemning me for my weaknesses. Thank You, that instead You offer me help at every turn. Your profoundly, loving care astounds me.

I have no confidence in myself, but I have confidence in You, because You are amazing! Thank You for holding my hand every time I fall. I am grateful for Your care, even when I obstinately act like I don’t need it. Please forgive me for that. I confess I NEED Your help every day.

I praise You for giving wisdom when I ask for it. I often find life confusing and decisions difficult. Thank You, for promising to give the understanding I need, whether through thoughts You give me or advice You send through people.

Oh Lord, if it had not been for You and if it had not been for Your steadfast love, I would have gone down long ago. Thank You for holding me and keeping me from falling. Thank You for cheering my soul, when all around me feels dark and hopeless. You have never left me alone.

Thank You, for not leaving me or anyone else on the sickbed, alone. I ask You for healing from illness, but I praise You that regardless of the outcome, You never abandon me, and You promise total restoration one day, when I am with You.

Lord, I praise You for both fighting for me and dwelling in me. The gift of Your Holy Spirit is a privilege. I am grateful for all the ways the Holy Spirit helps, encourages, convicts, and empowers me every day.

Thank You Lord for all the Scripture that declare the ways You help Your people: You deliver and save, You offer refuge and strength, You uphold my life, and You satisfy my deepest longings.

Oh to You, my very present Help, my lips offer joyful praise.

Amen

Oh Friend- does your soul just sings with the promise and reality of our present and active Lord, who Helps us every moment? I feel overwhelmed at His generosity and His love. Why do I ever doubt, fret, and worry? He never leaves. I am never alone. Nor are you.

Every time today you face a problem bigger than you are, remember- your Very Present Help is WITH you. Thank Him, and then ask for help! We are blessed among all people to be worshiping such a God.

• Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV)