Skip to main content

Where Does My Help Come From?


Do you panic when you become overwhelmed by the conflicting demands of life?  Life has a way of piling one thing on top of another all at the same time.  You never see it coming until, like an avalanche, you are buried in competing loyalties mixed with harsh realities that cannot be avoided. 
My most recent intersection of overwhelmed and caught off guard was caused by the truth that there was absolutely no way I could possibly fulfill my responsibilities without the help of God.  Rather than panic, I fully embraced that I was utter incapable of doing everything my life was asking of me. 
I recited Psalm 121:1-2 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. This helped remind me that there was absolutely no way that I could accomplish all that was required of me.
Could this be the reason that God sends me more than I can handle?  Is this the lesson He longs for me to learn?  I honestly could not see that I could accomplish the tasks that lay before me; but when I looked to God as my help rather than panic, it became fun to watch Him work through me. 
I’m not saying that the work became a breeze or that it didn’t feel like work.  I did enjoy it more because rather than be filled with panic and dread, I was filled with expectation and peace.  God didn’t do my work for me, but He did do my work through me. 
Receiving help from God builds me up spiritually.  I need God’s help everyday but often lose sight of this reality.  I move forward with my life without connecting deeply to Him when I believe that I am capable of handling my responsibilities.  Now that the big crunch is over and I saw God come through for me in mighty ways, I don’t want to stop fully relying on God.  I want to invite Him to work through me in the things that don’t seem so hard just because it is so sweet to be one with God.  There is nothing that He longs for more.  Jesus prayed for us to be one with Him and God during His intercessory prayer the evening before He died. 
Panic and Confidence about my responsibilities are both emotions that keep me from the closeness with God that He longs for me to experience.  My help comes from the Lord whether I am conscious of this fact or not.  He is the wind beneath my wings. 
Knowing that my help comes from the Lord is the most satisfying and lifegiving thought I have.  Grasping the enormity of the effects of living in a fallen world, I have no doubt that my life will drum up more unexpected and tragic circumstances than I could possibly prepare to meet.  I don’t expect that my lessons in my help coming from the Lord will make me immune from circumstances that have the potential to crush my soul.  However, my experiences of receiving God’s help insulate me from the blows.  It becomes a long history of how God has helped and never abandoned me in the past.  It moves me beyond my chaotic emotions of panic to a peace that passes understanding that guards my heart and my mind.  Why panic when your help comes from the Lord?  You won’t when you learn this lesson.

Copyright © 2017.  Deborah R Newman teatimeforyoursoul.com  All Rights Reserved.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Pilgrimage that Started with Tears

                Who would think I would shed tears deciding to set out on a wonderful journey that I have longed to take for many years?   Before I was ready to fully accept God’s invitation for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, I had to journey to a place of agreement between what my soul wanted and what the Lord wanted for me.   For years I have been declining opportunities to travel to Israel—not because I didn’t want to go but because I wanted to go with my husband by my side.   I know that God could have arranged that for me, but instead He asked me to accept that He wanted me to be willing to go and leave everything behind.   When I was asked to make a decision about going on a Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, God gave me this verse in answer to my prayer -- Debi, observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are cr...

Day Nine - Journey's End

    I didn't think I could write today, but do to bad weather we now have extra time at the airport. Today we looked over the model city and I can't believe all I have learned. Some of the excavations since the model was completed reveal differences in what they built in the model. What amazed me was that I could see what wasn't where I expected based on what I experienced. Here is a wide view of the Model City which is 1:5 scale.  It was created by a Jewish man who wanted his son to understand what Jerusalem was once like.  Someone said that if you didn't see Jerusalem during the time of Herod the Great, you have never seen a beautiful city.  Do you understand what I mean about how grand this Temple was?            Next we saw the Dead Sea Scrolls.  I learned a lot about the Essenes.  They lived like monks today.  Like Jesus, they were not happy with the way the Temple was being run and they...

Laity Lodge and a Writers' Conference

Laity Lodge and a Writers’ Conference…two of my favorite things happening in one place.  Laity Lodge is a writer’s dream.  Though it has been years since my last visit, I remember how my soul came alive while journeying into the hidden haven of peace and sanctuary I discovered at Laity Lodge.  No writer at heart could be disappointed by whatever God has in store for any weekend at Laity Lodge.  This particular weekend is designed just for writers.  I hope to find a refuge in a place of clear, clean, untouched majesty of God's creation, in the midst of the unique community of Christian writers who will inhabit this sacred space for a weekend.  What could be better than that? http://www.laitylodge.org/writers-retreat-ii/