From Where Does My Help Come?

I find it interesting that for some people, church is just a big crowd that meets on Sunday, a thing “done” once a week to recharge their batteries for another week. Others see church as a weekly obligation that they need to fulfill, and after it’s over, they disperse, and no additional consideration of God is given until the next Sunday morning. Sadly, they have been hit pretty hard during these days as we must avoid getting together in the church building.

Hopefully, for many other people, church is so much more than just a worship service. The church is a people who are in a relationship with God and fellowship with each other. During these days of isolation, we need to lean into God and one another like never before. It is crazy to think about how the dam finally broke on the coronavirus, and the world is flooded with frightening news. Right here in Berks, Lancaster, and Lebanon counties, the number of COVID-19 cases is skyrocketing, and deaths are occurring in retirement communities where we have visited loved ones and friends. All the dominoes seem to be falling.

This is unprecedented in our lifetime. We’ve never had a crisis of this magnitude. Even our media sources and news outlets keep adding fuel to the fire and fan the flames of fear in even the most courageous.

During the past week, I’ve found comfort in God’s Word and a song. I’m not terribly shaken during these days, but when I let my thoughts run wild, they go to some pretty extreme and frightening ends. But I find in Psalm 121:1–2 reassuring words from the psalmist, “I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!” For the pilgrim traveling to Jerusalem during the day of the psalmist, he would find that the mountains along the road to Jerusalem were littered with temples and idols. These little gods supposedly offered protection from bandits and thieves on the journey. Just the threat of being attacked, the fear of the possibility would tempt the weary travelers to go to the mountains, worship one of these lesser gods, and trust in it to save him, but the psalmist refuses to do it. He found his help in the LORD! When we gather together as a church, we make those same proclamations, and during these days of fear and doubt, we must stand on those things we’ve affirmed when we gathered as a church. My help comes from the LORD, and I will trust him even when everything seems to be against me.

​The song that I’ve been listening to and singing is by King and Country. I hope that you will take a moment just to let the words of the song, “Shoulders,” wash over you and remind you again from where your help comes. Be blessed in this day, and keep your eyes on Jesus. He won’t let you down, no matter what comes your way.