A Very Present Help.
- Carmen Debono
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
It was a mid-week morning, I lifted a prayer up and gave Minnie (my Mini Foxie) a squeeze. I began to meditate on the Goodness of God and the help He has brought in my life, even if it hasn’t been according to my timeline. Sometimes I like to think I know better and hurry things along, because why wait? A story for another time!
As I write this, before even getting to the point of sharing my reflections, I pictured Jesus carrying His cross toward His execution. The King of glory humbled Himself to be in a position to need help. His soul was already in anguish before the physical torture began (Luke 22:44). He was stripped, mocked, hit, whipped and spat upon. As he made His way to Calvary. Simon of Cyrene was forced to help him. You can read this in Matthew 27. Sometimes, any help will do, whether initiated or forced. Help is help.
You may have heard the saying “good help is hard to find”. How do you feel about receiving help when it is offered or available? Do you embrace or resist it? No matter how independent we may think we are, sooner or later, we will need help.
As I continued to sit with this thought and how God helps us in our time of need, I came across Psalm 46.
It reads…
1God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Verse 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
God doesn’t just send the help. He is present in the thick of it.
For example, a loved one is having a tough time, and you want to help out by providing a meal. You could send a meal via Uber Eats or make a home-cooked meal, deliver it yourself and spend time with them. Both get the job done of providing the meal; however, the latter is being a present help rather than providing help. God is our very present help in trouble.
Verse 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
While the phrase the darkest right before dawn is often used metaphorically to mean things improve after their worst point, the actual darkest time depends on the moon's phase and artificial light. The period before dawn can feel darkest due to eye adaptation.
The break of dawn can feel the darkest; however, scientifically, it is not always darkest right before dawn; the darkest point usually occurs around midnight.
Sometimes our perception of our circumstances can influence how we feel or even question where God is in all of this. Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. Psalm 139:12
Verse 7 and 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah (pause and calmly think about that)
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