Psalms 121
I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. Psalms 121:1-2 NKJV
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Remember the story from 2 Kings when Israel was at war with Aram, and the Arameans had surrounded the Israelites in the city of Dothan? Elisha helped the Israelites see that God was with them: “Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:16-17). From a worldly perspective, it looked absolutely hopeless for the Israelites. But from a Heavenly perspective, there was no way the Israelites were going to be defeated with God on their side. We are in a battle every day, and as Ephesians 6:12 tells us, “…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We cannot fight Satan and his demons without God’s help, and thankfully we do not have to. No matter what we are going to face this week, this month, or this year, remember that we are not alone.
God is always with us, He is in us, and He is for us. Jesus Himself told us: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see Me anymore, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you…And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of Truth.” (John 14:18-20, 15:16). What a comforting promise! In order for Satan to get to us, he has to make it through our front line, which includes the Trinity! In order for us to receive this amazing and unparalleled protection, however, we need to get out of God’s way. When we insist on our own plans, regardless of whether they are God’s plans for us or not, we willingly give up the divine protection that is available to us because we are children of God. When we give in to disbelief and doubt, we also hinder our Heavenly Father from being able to help us: “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do” (James 1:6-8).
When we trust more in our own abilities to fix our problems instead of trusting God to handle them for us, this also forms a barrier to being able to receive God’s help. When we are overwhelmed and overburdened, the best thing we can do is to have faith in the promises written in the Bible: “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken” (Psalm 55:22). No matter what you are going through, lift your eyes off of your problem and focus them on the Lord. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
Go to God in prayer and ask for His help, His guidance, and His strength. Learn to rely on Him. Let Him take the lead. Truly desire to see God at work in your life. He is THE source for help in times of need, and He is more than enough to help you overcome any problem that you are facing.