Where to Find Help
Daily Old Testament Reading: Psalm 146-148
Daily Focus Passage: Psalm 146
Help, I need help. These words ring out from people who face desperation, pain, or significant obstacles. People turn to many avenues to find support in moments of need and often turn to the world's ideologies for relief. In Psalm 146, we receive the reminder that true help comes only from the Lord. The Lord alone provides the strength, provision, and healing to overcome various obstacles. As we reflect on Psalm 146, may we distinguish why we must strive to look to the Lord alone for help and not to the world.
WHERE NOT TO LOOK FOR HELP
The world and the flesh often guide us to look to other people for help. The world attempts to convince us that the proper politician can correct societal issues or that the wisdom of individuals provides insight for us on how to live life. Yet, each lives flawed by the stain of sin. Individuals often provide help that serves the self and does not concern the self with understanding the dynamics others face. Thus, we must be cautious about finding support from people worldwide.
People seek to find help from the powers of the world. They seek help from nations that they believe bring peace. They attempt to find a purpose through the accumulation of wealth and stuff. They look to powerful positions to provide hope amid their sense of helplessness. The powers of the world all exist with limited strength. They all grow weak and evidentially fail. Thus, the powers of this world do not provide good help.
People seek to find help in the places of this world. When people seek help from various places, they often attempt to find help by escaping the causes of the trouble. Trying to find help in places means one attempt to find purpose through sources other than the Lord. Often these places cover the issues we face instead of providing the needed help.
LOOK TO THE LORD FOR HELP
In Psalm 146, the Psalmist presents six truths about the Lord being the One, True Needed Helper. First, we must find hope in the Lord as the only one who helps. The Lord provides help amid our struggles because of his great love and care for us. He provides perfect and complete help because it flows from his perfect character.
Second, we must trust the Lord for help because he is our Creator. The Psalmist declared that we must trust the Lord because he cares deeply for us. He is the one who created us, and he seeks to engage with his creation and offer them the needed help.
Third, we must trust the Lord for help because he is the true Rescuer. We often cry out for help because of the captivity we face due to sin. The Lord alone offers help to escape this snare because he is the needed rescuer for the captive. He sets us free through the help he provides.
Fourth, we must trust the Lord for help because he is a genuine healer. The Psalmist noted the healing that comes from the Lord. He knew that the Lord could bring help to the broken by offering healing to their souls. The healing available from the Lord cannot be found in this world. The Lord alone provides healing that is perfect and lasting.
Fifth, we must trust the Lord for help because of his love for the righteous. The Psalmist knew that the Lord God has for us drives him to help us because of his grace and mercy. We do not deserve the offered help from the Lord, but we find help from him because of his genuine care for the righteous who follow him. The righteous are not perfect, but they are the children of God who have received forgiveness and salvation and, as a result, are covered in the Lord’s righteousness.
Sixth, we must trust the Lord for help because he sustains orphans and widows. The Psalmist reveals the compassion of the Lord to help even the least of people. The use of orphans and widows reveals the Lord’s deep passion for helping those in grave need. As the Lord helps the orphans and widows, so does he offer help to all those who seek him in need.
