I shared the following at our Blue Christmas service where we focused on God as our Comfort, Our Strength, Our Helper and Our Joy. This was a shared service. This is my reflection on God as Our Helper.
God as our Helper
Psalm 121
The Psalms are beautiful pieces of poetry. They cover a vast array of emotions. There are Psalms of joy, there are ones of desperation, fear, celebration, and pretty much whatever else you can think of.
Psalm 121 is one of my favourites. I imagine the author on some sort of journey, feeling lost and alone, unsure of what the destination holds when he arrives there. As he walks through a valley, he lifts up his head at the hills and wonders where his help will come from.
But the answer comes quickly. “Where does my help come from? It comes from the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth. The one who sees all things, knows all things, made all things.
God never sleeps, the writer reminds us. God is forever with His people.
At Christmas, it’s not hard to feel helpless, lost or alone when you can’t find the energy or desire to join in with the festivities. You might find yourself finding a connection with the writer of the 121st Psalm. You might feel you are on some a journey, alone and lost, walking through some sort of valley.
There is a reassuring tone to the Psalm. Where will my hope come from? It will come from God. He watches over us 24×7. He will keep us from evil, he will watch over our lives. Wherever we go, the Lord is there.
Sure there are times when God feels really far away. There’s nothing that can bring us closer. It’s easy to feel this way when we feel like there’s no one out there we can even talk to about how we feel. We might feel like we’re being an imposition for sharing our burden with others.
God is our helper. When we feel like we want to live in our valley, to keep our head buried and let the world pass us by, know that God is with us. We are not alone.
At times in the year when we need comfort, strength and help, God has made promises to His children that he will be there for us. Why? Because He has never left us.
God is here. Help is here. The Lord walks with us in our journeys, and sends us people in our lives to help us on our way.
Our God is our helper. All thanks and glory to Him. Amen.