An Ever-Present Help In Trouble
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
(Psalm 46: 1 - 3)
In a world that is filled with daily challenges to overcome, we are invited to a spiritual adventure of learning that our Lord our God is our refuge, strength and ever-present help in trouble. As I was reading Psalm 46, I took the time to try and understand verses 1 - 3, as I contemplated on this phrase-"an ever-present help in trouble." How blessed are we to be assured of such a help. We are assured of God's help that is always there. It exists at all times. Yes! An omnipresent, ubiquitous, pervasive and constant help in our times of trouble.
How often do we go through troubles? It varies from person to person, depending on our individual experiences of daily life. But the only thing, as God's children, that we are assured of is our God's help whenever or wherever we may be in trouble. You turn to your right, God is there to help. You turn to your left, He is rolling up His sleeves to work on your problems. You turn behind and see, and He is ready to hold you when you fall. And you look forward to walking on the hard path ahead, and you feel God's hands ready to lift you up and walk the walk for you. What an assurance to those who trust the Lord, to those who have the Lord as their only hope.
Think about all the worse conditions that could surround you, all the disasters that could change your life forever within minutes, all the hard realities that could be hitting you so hard in this pandemic-stricken world where one human being has become a threat to the other's life. It may freeze you for a moment to imagine the kind of severe changes that had taken place in our lives over the last two years, and the way the unexpected and the unacceptable conditions have entered our personal lives and homes. Do we feel left out? Do we feel anxious about the next step, the next year, the next decade or even our next generation? This is where this verse of assurance comes in. "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging" (Psalm 46: 2,3). Amen! God is our refuge and strength, and He will safeguard us through eternity! We do not need to fear. We just need to trust Him through all this.
Today we are invited to put our trust in God's ever-present help in our times of trouble. Are you going through a time of difficulty in maintaining your precious relationships with your loved ones? Seek the Lord's help. Are you going through a financial condition that you fear is going to lead into depths and dues? Remember that the Lord our God is there beside you. He exactly knows how it feels. Are you worried and waiting for the medical report that could suggest your health condition for the next months and years? I want to encourage you to be assured of the Lord's help at this time. Are you wondering about how your or your children's studies would progress beyond this time of uncertainties and pressure? Remember that the Lord has a great plan; plans to prosper. And even when things do not go the way that we always imagined them to be, let us rest assured that God's help is around us. His hand has never left us alone. His presence is moving with us. He knows our heartbeats and their aches. His help is there for us each and every time we think we are helpless. What a privilege to be blessed and assured of this ever-present help in trouble. Let us trust and seek God's help. Let us live a life of assurance in the Lord, leaving away our worries and fears.
May the power and blessing of God the Father, the love and grace of Christ Jesus the Son, and the fellowship and guidance of the Holy Spirit, be with us and help us, as we seek every day to live with the help of our Lord and continue to share this assurance to those around us.
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
"Jesus I need you..." by Hillsong
