A Very Present Help

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psa. 46:1).

 

Life is filled with an amazing number of opportunities and blessings, as well as trials and difficulties to deal with. Each of these can be positive or negative. We can allow opportunities to become temptations, to use them in ways they can be destructive, or hurtful to others. Paul spoke of how some could use their knowledge regarding foods, that nothing is really unclean, in ways that would hurt others who still held to some foods being unclean. “Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil” (Rom. 14:16). Trials, while not the most pleasant situations to go through, can be used by God to help draw us closer to Him and strengthen our faith. James reminded his readers, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (Jas. 1:2-3).

Whether something can help us or hurt us, depends on the part we allow God to play in the process. From the very beginning, both God and the devil are at work in our lives. For example, as God gives us the fruit of the Spirit to bless our lives, Satan seeks to compromise us into allowing the works of the flesh to be a substitute. With God, the fruit of the Spirit provides those spiritual qualities to life that enhance our perspective on the spiritual and find the good God offers. Satan, in contrast, offers a poor exchange with those deeds that are void of the spiritual, that appeal to and emphasize that which is carnal. The fruit of the Spirit leads to life, while the works of the flesh leads to death.

In seeking to overcome sin and grow more spiritually, we must deny Satan his part in our lives, by making God the integral influence in our lives. The psalmist mentions three areas where God can make a difference in overcoming sin and growing in holiness. First, God is our refuge. The term refuge indicates a place of safety and protection, security. As one would take shelter in a safe structure during a storm, God offers us safety and security in the storms of life (Psa. 62:7).

Not only this, but God is our strength. The term can refer to the strength of a fortified tower (Judg. 9:51), and the power by which God led His people (Ex 15:13). To trust in the Lord and take refuge in His strength provides us with what we need to reject the temptations of the flesh and seek those virtues that enhance our relationship with God and fortify our resolve in living by the will of God (Isa. 12:2).

Lastly, these blessings are always available to us in the God who always provides us His safe place and His strength of resolve. He is a “present” help, not just one located in the past, or one who will sometime appear. To emphasize God’s constancy in our lives, and the aid He provides, one translation states, “a helper who is always found in times of trouble.” This truly conveys to us, whenever we need God, God is always available, always there to assist, always supplying what is needed, no matter what it is we face.

God is all this to us, if we seek Him, in any and every circumstance we meet. The question is, do we look for Him, or try to make it on our own? He so much wants to be our refuge, strength, constant help throughout our lives, and will be, if we seek Him. Jeremiah reminds us, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). Considering all God is, and what He offers, why would we go through life and exclude Him from our decisions, our actions, our lives? “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

Robert