“Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me” (Psalm 54:4).
In the Bible this is not a rare saying, that God is our help in times of trouble. But if you think about it, it is the reason the Lord Jesus says he came not to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom.
You’ve heard the saying, “Good help is hard to find.” In God’s case, it’s more likely to be that the goodness of the help is hard to appreciate. Sometimes we measure God by the troubles that come along, oblivious to his invitation, as if all along he were expecting us to deal with them.
Instead, God is inviting us into his life. Inviting us into maturity. Inviting us into joining him as a servant. His help is not meant to make us lazy taskmasters who order up the next item on the menu of amusements. God is not a codependant helper.
God as a helper is like a parent helping a child grow into responsibility and productivity.
When I am tired and feel pulled this way and that, wondering how I am going to manage, it helps me to remember who God is and to think of myself in alliance with him. God is my help, and I am here to help. I don’t have anything of my own to give, but all that God has given me.
