Title: I Need Your Help Lord

Date: 2007-08-12

Reference: Psalm 121 and Hebrews 13:6

""Thirty six years ago this month Clay Blyth successfully completed what no one else had ever attempted before. He sailed non stop round the world, in the wrong direction, or East to West against the prevailing winds and currents. When he returned to England after his ten month, 30k mile voyage he was greeted by a large crowd including several members of the Royal Family. They were all there to welcome him home from his trip of 292 days paddling against the currents.

Living the Christian life can be difficult at times. We are supposed to go in the opposite direction of the world around us. The Bible says when we accept Christ, we do a 180 degree turn, and from then on we are going against the prevailing standards of our culture and our natural tendencies. As Paul said: “When we are Christians we are in the world but not of the world.” If we let our guard down we will be swept along with the flow around us. We can succeed in our right course only with the supernatural strength from the Holy Spirit.

As the Psalmist wrote: “I look to the hills. Where will I find help? Help will come from the Lord who created the heavens and the earth. The Lord is our protector, there at our right side. He will keep us safe from all dangers now and always wherever we go.”

It is so comforting to know God, and to know God is with us in the challenges of life. God is our help. I believe it is a bad alternative to go in the opposite direction from God. Jonah, among others, tried this.

In the book of Jonah we read: “Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord.” I’m sure we all know how that turned out for Jonah. We have a daily choice to make as to whether we will travel toward God or away from God. Going along with the current may sometimes seem like smooth sailing but always ends up in a shipwreck.

Life is sometimes very uncertain. Where does our help come from? Our help comes from the Lord. What matters most as we navigate the treacherous waters of life is a sincere belief that we as individuals matter to God and God is with us and will help us. During difficult times, times of grief, disappointment, fear, and anxiety we need a God who can speak to us. A God who can give us a word of truth or encouragement. God speaks to us through His word and through His Holy Spirit. God watches over us and protects us. When we pour out our hearts to God we are not engaging in a futile exercise. God hears and God understands, and God helps.

Someone has said that it is during times of suffering that we learn to pray our most authentic heartfelt, honest to God prayers. When we are in pain we don’t have the energy for superficial prayers. Our tears count with God because we count with God.

The God described in the 121st Psalm is a living, responsive, dynamic, creative, thinking, feeling, moving, loving God. The kind of God we want and need. A God who assures us we are worthy of His attention.

Psalm 121 is one of 15 Songs of Ascent. In the old days when the people would travel to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple they would have to make a climb to enter the city. This song was written to sing along the road from the lowlands up to the city. Psalm 121 is music of the uphill journey. I lift up my eyes to the hills. Mountains are mentioned often in the Bible. God’s law was given on Mt. Sinai. The Temple was built on Mt. Moriah. Jesus was crucified on Mt. Calvary. As we who live in Colorado know, there is something about the majesty of the mountain that invokes the majesty of God. In ancient times mountains were also sites of danger and hardship. Wild animals and bandits hid in the rocks and caves on mountain paths. Pagans built temples for human sacrifice in the high places around Jerusalem.

The Psalmist gazed up to the hills at the outset of his journey and said: “I will look unto the hills.” “My help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth.” The Psalmist believed, as we do, if God can guide the stars and planets, surely God will guide our steps.

God is not just the creator of all things, God is also the sustainer. God will take care of us. Some still think of God as a Cosmic Watchmaker. According to this view, god created a finely tuned world and left us to our own devises. This is not the God of the Bible. After creation God remained intimately involved. We know, that if even for a moment, God removed His hand from the universe we wouldn’t tick happily away we would fly apart into oblivion.

In our journey through life we can’t see God but God always sees us. God who made heaven and earth knows us by name. This Psalm reminds us we are all on a journey in and through life. Life’s map doesn’t display detail for us. There are many uncertainties and times of great pain. In those times we turn to God. We look to God for grace to meet each defining moment.

The 121st Psalm speaks of a creator God who can be trusted to help us at every point along the journey. The Psalmist lifted his eyes up to the hills and saw the one who is not only the destination of the journey but also the strength for every step of the journey.

Our faith as revealed in the Bible has never promised that life is meant to be easy. It is a false assumption, on our part, that the presence of trouble, implies the absence of God. God helps us on the journey. As the Psalmist prepared himself for the ascent to the city, he thought of the miles ahead. He thought of the twists and turns, the surprises and dangers ahead. He asked the timeless personal question.”Who will help me? Where is my help?” He understood we human beings need help far beyond our limited resources and human answers.

We moderns like to believe we are self-sufficient, the captains of our own fate, the commanders of our own destiny. We often find ourselves moving along with the prevailing current, more like the world than like God.

Our eyes are lifted not only to the hills but to the creator of the hills. Our eyes are lifted up to a God who commanded the stars into space, who placed our planet into orbit around the sun. Our eyes are lifted up to God who orders life. In the midst of all of life we are assured we are not alone.

Years later the author of Hebrews paraphrased this Psalm saying: “The Lord helps me. Why should I be afraid of anything people can do to me?” This verse from Hebrews became an early affirmation of faith for the Christian Church.

This verse was a source of great peace to the early Christians who knew that no human being could do anything to them apart from God’s will.

We are travelers in this journey of life. Each of us will bend in a different direction. In spite of the perils, we can trust in God. God is with us and helps us. God continues to invite each of us into a personal relationship with Himself. God desires our company, our friendship, our time. God will help us whenever we call upon God to do so.

I look to the hills. Where will I find help? Help will come from the Lord who created the heavens and the earth. The Lord is your protector, and He won’t go to sleep or let you stumble. The Lord is your protector there at your right side to shade you from the sun. You won’t be harmed by the sun during the day or by the moon at night. The Lord will protect you and keep you safe from all dangers. The Lord will protect you now and always wherever you go.

As we navigate our way through life we know it’s not easy to sail against the prevailing winds and currents as Clay Blyth did. Much easier to go along and get along. When we are traveling with Christ we are often called to go against the conventional wisdom and prevailing standards of our culture, and our natural tendencies.

We will succeed only with help from the Lord who created the heavens and the earth. ""