Our Helper He Amid the Flood

“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.” (Psalms 33:20)

On my way through Twitter this morning, I happened upon a Charles Spurgeon quote, “God will never cease to help us until we cease to need.” You have to love Spurgeon. This thought has carried me through the day. 

The thought of God as the helper of people weaves its way through the scripture like a golden thread. Many a weary soul has sat down beneath the shade of this thought: God is my helper. He doesn’t just help other people in general. He helps me in particular.

What kind of help is God? He is a help with limitless power and endless resources, “Our help is in the Name of the Lord who made the heavens and the earth.” He is a help near at hand in time of need. The Psalmist calls Him “a help in tight places findable very.” (Psalm 46:1, Literal Translation). Often His help comes at the eleventh hour, like the dawn which always comes after the darkest part of the night. God, the Psalmist says, will help you when morning dawns (Psalm 46:5). Take comfort beleaguered saint, the dark night of the soul won’t last forever. Geographic distance cannot separate you from this helper. Wherever we are, He can come to our aid: He rides the heavens to our help (Deut. 33:26). Wherever we are, His open ear attends the prayer of the helpless: When we cry to him for help, He hears (Psalm 22:24). Often His help is the reason, the only reason, we can keep our heads above water and our bodies out of the grave: “If the LORD had not been my help,” the Psalmist said, “My soul would would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence. If I should say, “My foot has slipped, Your lovingkindness, O LORD, will hold me up.” When men do their worst, God helps His people: The Psalmist could say about his enemies, “You pushed me violently so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me!” 

Best of all, God doesn’t just help the great and the good. He stoops to help the weak, undeserving (hell deserving) people like Jacob, “How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob. (Psalm 146:5). He is a helper against every exigency and difficulty: “(He) keeps faith forever; (He) executes justice for the oppressed, (He) gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord! (Psalms 146:5-10). He is a Sovereign helper. All other forces (friend and foe) are beneath Him, under His control, gripped in the friendly hand of tender omnipotence. His Help is on our side (Romans 8:31). None can snatch us out of His fatherly hand (John 10:25-27)

The only motivation he needs to help people comes from within His own heart, the remembrance of His own kindness, “He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy. (Luke 1:54)” His help comes to those who have nothing to give— Beggars, completely dependent on grace and mercy: “Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16).” He even helps people who struggle to know how to pray: “The Spirit helps in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaning to deep for words.” 

God’s help comes to us with all the tender reassurance of a Father holding a frightened child by the hand, “Do not fear, For I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Clearly, God’s help is not something in doubt!

Whatever you face this morning. Whatever floods threaten your soul. Don’t be frightened. There is a helper for you amid the flood. He has loved you from forever. He surely will not fail you in this brief world of time. Look to Him. Keep your eyes fixed upon Him, and all your darkest fears will be irradiated in His blazing glory (Psalm 34). You may wait long, but you will not wait forever. Help is coming.