Help in Time of Need

1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

How many times have I been in trouble with no one to help me? How many hours have I thought and struggled to find and answer or an escape or some small comfort? Far too many, I am afraid. Many times I felt alone in a battle, and never took avail of the help that was so near at hand. For we do have a very present help in times of trouble.

The Psalmist was " looking unto the hills" in hope of help. The hills no doubt sat cool and distant somehow detached and unmoved at his plight. Mountains are great and beautiful things, solemn and peaceful, timeless and strong, but miserable help when we are in distress. I remember growing up in the foothills and mountains of western North Carolina. Often I would take to the woods and the hills and valleys to escape or to just seek new paths I had not yet walked. The deep shadowed hollows and forests were a cool, refreshing place to wander and think the deep, deep thoughts of boyhood. However, sometimes I had troubles and pain, whether emotional or physical, and it was not toward the hills I turned, but toward home. Home offered safety, security and comfort.

The Psalmist looked unto the hills and they stoically looked back, in their unchanging stillness, and he continued on to ask: "From whence cometh my help?" He needed to look beyond the hills in seeking help. In a song I used to hear time to time, the singer would ask: "Is there anybody out there?" I have felt that way. I have felt totally alone.

With great joy I can say with absolute certainty that, "yes, someone is out there", and that Someone is closer than you ever thought. He is there waiting for you to reach out your hand and ask for His help. Verse two says it all: My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. The Psalmist needed to look past the hills to the maker of the hills, and there was help plentiful for whatever he faced. We are never alone. Never forsaken or forgotten. He said He would be with us always, even unto the end of the earth.

First we see that the help comes from someone who has the power to help. The creator who has all power. It would be a sad day to ask for help and have someone who was willing, but unable. Our Lord is both willing and able. He is the Creator of all that is, what problem could we possibly have that would baffle Him or confound His power? Isaiah wrote it this way: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else"

Next we can know that He can put us in a place so that we can not be moved. A place so safe that not even our foot can slip and put us back in danger. He is holding us tight, and nothing we can do or anyone else can do, can break us free from His grip. He is there always, alert and ready to come to our aid.

Third, He stands guard constantly over our well being. Vs. 5-8 show Him protecting us from every danger.

He saves us from evil here. There are evil men about looking to take advantage or destroy us. The devil walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. The world wants us to conform to its immorality and darkness. God protects us from them all, but we have to trust Him and lean on Him, and not our own understanding. Verse 7 promises protection here.
But it goes a long way past the clear and present dangers of this world. It also says that He preserves my soul. Not only here are we protected, but also on that dark day when we slip from this world. He will go with us through the dark valley of death and preserve us through that door into His presence forevermore. While our body dies here on this plane, we can never die if we are in Christ. He will be there and escort us triumphantly into His Father’s presence. There is no death for the saints of God.

We are kept and protected in the Lord Jesus Christ, from this time forth, even forevermore. Amen.

Four Pieces of Good News

1. Jesus was born.

Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Jesus was born to a very humble beginning in a stall of a stable in an obscure little town in Judea. He did not come to a castle, or to a rich family, or with a great army, but His coming was the culmination of centuries of prophecy and expectation. He was not just another man. He was God in the flesh, Emmanuel. Angels in great joy came to announce his birth, not to the king, not to the politicians, or to the rich, but to a band of shepherds on a hill outside of town. He came to save all people, no matter what their social status was. The Angels spoke true when they said it was “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” No one is excluded; any and all who come can come to know Him and the joy He brings. Not only are all welcome, all are invited. Come to Him and understand that in Him alone is safety, security, hope, and peace. Wise men sought Him then, wise men still seek Him today.

2. He lived a sinless life, yet knows about temptation.

Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin

Imagine standing before a judge who not only had never done anything wrong, but had never even felt the temptation to do something wrong. How unmerciful that judge would be! A judge like that could not understand how we failed, and would punish us without mercy. Our Lord Jesus is not like that. He never sinned, it is true, but He knows the feeling of temptations. He knows how it feels to want something that is not rightfully ours. He faced every type of temptation that we deal with: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, and yet never sinned. He did not give in and He gives us strength to stand firm as well. 1 Cor. 10:13 says He will provide a way of escape. We have to realize that and look for it, but it is there. There is never, ever, a situation where we are left with no choice but to sin. I notice in the passage that He is TOUCHED with the feeling of our infirmities. I see that two ways. One, He has felt the temptation that we are feeling and knows how we feel. Two, our situation touches Him in His heart and inspires compassion and mercy. He has walked that “mile in our shoes” and has felt our temptations, and “He ever liveth to make intercession for us.” Good knews; He knows where we are coming from.


3. He died for our sins, all of them.

Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Above we talked about temptation. Jesus was tempted, but never sinned. We unfortunately, cannot say that. We fail; sometimes so bad we can’t understand how we ever came to that point. Our failures are not just mistakes we can shrug off and go on. Our failures are sin. Sin is transgression of God’s law. God’s law demands perfect obedience. Failure is short of the mark of God’s perfect righteousness, and demands punishment. God’s word says “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” We are facing the death penalty for breaking God’s law. We have another problem: we cannot pay the debt we owe and can’t pay to cleanse our record. Nothing we can do will wipe the record clean, because all of our actions are tainted with sin. God says “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Good works would not clean up our past, take care of our present, or blind God to our future sins. We need help. God knew that and planned from all eternity past to provide for our need. The first verse under number one tells us that a “Saviour” is born, who is Christ the Lord. Jesus was born to save us from our sin, but how? The law said that the punishment for sin is death. We were supposed to die for our sins, but Gods plan was to provide a substitute. That substitute was Jesus Christ. He was taken, beaten, mocked, and nailed to a cross to die in our place. His horrible death shows the seriousness of sin. It’s real and it’s deadly and God is dead serious about it. The good news is that “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” He suffered, we benefit, he died, we live, violence was done to him to bring peace to us, we were critically ill, he died so we could be healed. A few verses later Isaiah tells us that God saw the travail of His soul and was satisfied. Justice had been fulfilled.


4. He arose and holds the keys to death, hell and the grave.

4And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

They came early on the first day of the week to the grave expecting to anoint the body of Jesus. Glorious surprise! The grave was open, the stone was rolled away. They entered and found not Jesus, but a “young man” who gave them the great news: “Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here.” Jesus was not there. Death could not maintain its grip on Him. His sacrifice was accepted and He was alive again. He is risen! We serve a risen saviour, and he ever liveth to make intercession for us. He was born, he lived a sinless life, He died for our sins, and He arose on the third day to show the world that His sacrifice is the all-sufficient, complete, full payment for sin. In Him alone lies salvation. He is the resurrection and the life. We also know that the same power that raised Christ will one day raise all those who are in Christ Jesus.

We live in an insecure world. Jesus is a Solid Rock that never changes. Take hold of Him and He will give you strength to weather any storm and withstand every onslaught of our enemy, the devil. If you have never accepted Him, he waits for you, knocking at the door. Open today and let Him enter your life. Your eternity hangs in the balance.

Sorry Folks. I have been away for a while. Between Going to school, working six and seven days a week, and not getting enough sleep, I was overwhelmed. Pray for me, as I am still facing some serious challenges, and I will try to get back on at least a semi-regular schedule with this. Take care. God Loves You.