Asking for Help
“He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:3-4
In the centuries gone by, it was cultural and fashionable to hold a general belief in a higher power. In the writings and correspondence of that time period, you might read of folks appealing to Providence, Sovereignty, or the Divine – basically a nameless, faceless force behind the scenes of human life as we know it.
When we engage Psalm 121, it challenges us not to give in to the temptation to settle for lofty, distant Powers-that-be nor nameless, faceless approximations of the living God, in whom the Psalmist places his ultimate trust. The message of the Psalm is not “get a higher power; any higher power will do”; rather, he impresses upon the reader that it is the LORD who is his helper.
Five times throughout the six verses of the Psalm, the author names the God of the Bible by his revealed name – the LORD. It is the LORD who takes care of us, his people. Help is not a strategy, a hopeful wish, nor a new idea. Help is a person – a real, knowable person, the LORD. However, he is more than a mere powerful creator and helper. ** His name, the LORD, speaks of his fatherly concern and intimate care for his people.**
In late March of 1984, an Exxon oil tanker ran aground off the coast of Alaska dumping 10.9 million gallons of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound. Over 1300 miles of shoreline was fouled by this disaster. Almost 25 years later, there remains an estimated 26,000 gallons of oil in the sand and soil of Prince William Sound. When the president of the Exxon Oil corporation was asked soon after the spill if he plans to go and help with the clean up efforts, he implied that such a visit would be a waste of his time and resources and beneath his level of responsibility. It was shocking to hear a man who had the power to help yet lacked the goodness and care to do so.
When we encounter the LORD of Psalm 121, we see that he is able to help us as Almighty God and he is willing to do so freely as our faithful and loving Heavenly Father.
You will need help today. It is inevitable. We all do. The question before each of us remains, “Will you ask the LORD for his help?” He is no nameless, faceless, disinterested deity. He is Almighty God and Faithful heavenly Father who takes great delight in bringing the exact help you need as his child!