March 31 – By Our Side

“For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’” -  Isaiah 41:13 -  (NASB)

Just as Israel could count on God’s help, so can we for God promises to the believer that He will uphold our right hand. The picture of these words is that God is at our side ready and active in giving us help. We all need help and sometimes in circumstances that seem to be quite unsettling. We should know that God allows such time in order to give us an opportunity to believe His promises. He wants us to know that he is right here with us just as he was with Israel. We should not fear those who are against us. In this chapter Isaiah compared the idol worshipers who did not have the help of God. They could only help each other and the result was an idol who could do nothing for them. Each expert idol maker did their part to make sure the carved and plated image would not totter – fall over. Their idols could not even right themselves. God promises to help us and we do not have to be afraid of the threating world around us that wants to cancel us. God will not let that happen. 

June 27 – When God Listens

“Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’” Isaiah 58:8-9a (NASB)

The people of Israel were complaining that God did not recognize their religious actions. God responds to them that their fasting was half-hearted and done with the wrong motivation. Insincere fasting resulted in contention, fighting, and pretense. Fasting consisted of more than just an outward ritual and a mock penitence, it involved repentance over sin resulting in humility. Turning from sin, and caring for those in need was required for God to acknowledge their obedience in fasts. In contrast with the complaint of v. 3, a time will come when the Lord will be completely responsive to the prayers of His people. This will be done when they are converted and giving evidence of the transformation in the kind of works that reflect a truly repentant heart  This verse is an interesting way to describe what happens when we pray. Seek God with the right heart and God will pour out His blessings. God has a way of letting us know that He is listening when we pray. When we are praying in earnest we'll be aware that God's is there and listening because He has promised to be there.

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May 12 – Is Never Asleep

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.” -  Psalm 121:1-3 (ESV)

The title “Song of Ascents” identifies each of the Psalms 120–134 as a pilgrim song which was sung when the Israelites “ascended” (went up) to Jerusalem for the annual feasts. Festivals and feasts were very important annual events in Jewish life.  The pilgrim-psalmist, as he contemplated his own spiritual journey while walking the roads through the hills to Jerusalem. He asked where his help came from. It was a rhetorical question framed in the song for  he knew.  He had found the answer to this question in the affirmation of his faith that the Lord. It was the Lord God who created heaven and earth, including those hills. God was his only Source of help. God’s people then and today are encouraged to trust the living God because He will bless them all.  Verse 3 has our promise for today, and every day.  God is watching over us on our journey. We need not look to anyone but Him for the help we need. He will not let our foot to slip; and He never dozes off. God takes no naps or ever go to sleep and he guards us going and coming. 

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February 27 – In the Midst of Anything

“God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” Psalm 46:1-3 (KJV)

It was just a few days ago that we considered the promises from God’s Word found in the book of Isaiah. The promise was that  even if mountains may depart and the hills be removed, God’s love would never fail to be here for us. Today we consider again a comparison of God’s attributes with mountains being moved, this time into the sea. God promises to be our refuge (shelter) from storms and danger. Such threats are around us all the time and we may not even know every time we are in such peril. Think of those who were on that jet that lost most of an engine. Disasters happen and we are not always protected from them happening but God here promises that He is still our refuge and strength. Strong enough even to bring us into His presence or see us safely home. Floods and earthquakes are uncontrollable and nearly unpredictable as are the crises and circumstances that might knock us off our feet.  But God is and will be with us protecting us from fear and trouble. Let’s hold tightly to these promises today and next time disaster threatens, no matter what kind it is. 

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April 26 – Looking For Help

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”  - Psalm 121:1 (ESV)

Often the meaning of the first verse from this Psalm is misinterpreted.  Some have thought that we are to look at the hills and see God’s help coming from there.  No, that is not what the verse is teaching us.  Actually it is the opposite.  The hills are not were we find the help we need from God.  Instead we are to look directly at God.  Our help comes to us from Him, from the LORD who made heaven and earth and the hills and valley, the rivers and lakes, the plains and mountains.  Today, if we are in need of help from God, let’s not look to the things around us but find that help from God in His Word.  Among many more promises in this passage, the rest of this psalm tells us that God never sleeps; He protects us from natural dangers; He keeps us from evil; He watches over us as we go about our daily responsibilities and as we come home to rest.  The help we need today comes to us from God as we trust in Him and His Word.  

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December 5 – To Hope is To Wait

“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.”  - Psalm 42:5  (NASB)

There is a promise here that is ours if we are willing to wait, to hope in God.  Depression is so very common among all people and it is nothing new.  The author of this psalm writes as if for all who will sing the song.  Being in despair is to be sunk down or depressed.  How do we react when we find our soul sunk down?  There is a mental illness some of us suffer with which is called depression but there is also these momentary times of depression due to profound sadness or disruption of our lives.  Death, loss of job or home, divorce, failure to succeed and many other circumstances which cause us to be in despair in a common way.  We learn this promise here that if we respond to such times by hoping in the only one who is unchangeable, our God; if we are willing to wait for his solution to work out, we are promised a return to praising Him again. He will come and His presence will bring help and the wisdom and guidance we need. God never forsakes His own. 

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October 28 – Promises Understood

“Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.”  Psalm 22:11 (NIV)

Although we may not know the details of how exactly God answered this prayer, we can still read it to encourage us. We can trust in promises we have learned that God is nearby us all the time, even when we do not feel it.  He promises to not desert us or to forsake us.  We believe that God has preserved His Word in our Bible to do just that. We believe that God did answer David's prayer in this Psalm and He will answer our prayers when we ask Him. He knows when trouble is near to His own and He will be near, very near at all times like that. So this is a prayer that we can pray in perfect confidence. Although these words are not in a form of a promise, yet God has allowed the prayer to be included because He has already promised to be always with His own. So be encouraged to pray as David did whenever you need it.

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October 21 – Help and Shield

“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.  For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.”  Psalm 33:20-21 (ESV)

Our God is surely a great source of joy. The psalmist wrote that in Him our hearts rejoice. So our faith in God is not just a mental, intellectual attitude. It affects our inner being. It becomes a protective shield against the evil enemy seeking to destroy our lives.  With His help our hearts are filled with joy and gladness. Actually that is how the psalmist describes what happens when we put our faith in God. He says that trusting in the Lord is what produces the joy in our lives. Yes, we can trust the Lord for whatever we are facing today. As we learn to depend on Him to take care of your needs, to be for us a help and a shield against the attacks, we realize what a great and Holy God He is, the result will be joy. His joy will fill our heart.

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September 19 – In His Name

“Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”  Psalm 124:8 (ESV)

The psalmist David ends this song of praise with this affirmation.  In the previous verses he has praised God for helping His people escape from the snare set for them  by their enemies.  They had been in great danger but God had protected them, and the reason why God is able to do that is explained by who He is – the maker of heaven and earth.  That is why we can depend on our God to help us.  It is because of who He is. He is our creator.  We belong to Him if we have repented and believed in Him.  His name is the source of our help and when we need help we call on Him. and He promises to help us. He is the great creator who has made heaven and earth. Remember, our God is all powerful. He made the whole universe. He can do what needs to be done for us.  We call on His name because of who His is.

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July 27 – No Fear, He Will Help

“For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’”   Isaiah 41:13 (NASB)

In the forty-first chapter of Isaiah we find many reassuring and encouraging promises from God.  Today's verse records words spoken by God through His prophet to His people at that time, and we believe that He is still closely involved with us who are His people today.  These words of promise are also for us.  When we put our faith in God and in His Son Jesus Christ, we can recognize that He is our loving Father.  Our promise today says that the Lord will take hold of our right hand.  This expression shows is an illustration of how close and how personal our relationship is with God.   God also promises to help. What a tremendous promise when He declares "I will help you."  We do not have to fear.  We do not have to allow anxiety and upsetting circumstances to disrupt our lives with God because whatever we need, God will help us through it while holding our right hand.  God is close to us and we are close to Him when we trust these promises.  Let's do that.  

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June 30 – No Need to Fear or Worry

“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.”   Isaiah 41:10 (NASB)

It was through the Prophet Isaiah that God sent this promise to His people.  In the midst of warnings about what God was going to do to the unbelieving nations around Israel, he sends this encouragement that they did not need to fear or be anxious.  God would not be bringing the same judgment on His people.  This is a good promise for us to take hold of too.  When circumstances in our world and life become increasingly upsetting and disruptive we can cling to this promise that God is our God.  We do not need to be afraid of what is happening around us.  We do not need to be looking over our shoulder worrying about what might happen to us.  God  promises strength when and where we need it.  He promises to help us with full assurance.  In fact His promise is that He will be the One that holds us up and keeps us from falling.  We are helped by God's righteous right hand.  

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May 8 – From the Creator Alone

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2 (ESV)

Our verses from Psalm 121 today helps us recognize where we can get the help we need to live according to the way God wants us to.  God has made his will known to us as to how we are to live in respect to Him and His Word.  Here the writer reminds us that when we are in situations where we need help and are facing challenges to live as we ought to live we are not to look at the created world but at the Creator of the world.  We can, of course take inspiration from the world around us and it leads us to remember how great our God is so we confess that our real source of help is from God who made the world around us.  God's power is manifest in creating and maintaining this universe and all things in it.  Look at the hills and mountains and all that God has made and recognize that the Almighty God, the only God, is the one who made all that exists and then we know where our help truly comes from.  Worship God, appreciate His creation and acknowledge that the help we need comes from the One who made all things.  

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August 4 – Delivered

“He sent from on high, He took me;  He drew me out of many waters.” Psalm 18:16 (NASB)

Two days ago we read a portion of Psalm 18 describing David's experience with God. Today we look at verse from the same psalm in which David draws a picture of how God helped him.  It is a picture of our Almighty God in heaven getting involved in the life of His servant David.  David found himself in some serious problems of survival.  But God was aware of David's situation and He reached down to delivered him out of the circumstances which were sinking David.   We too find situations in our lives that feel like a flood and we feel like we are in way over our heads.  The promise we have from God is this, although He has the whole universe to take care of, He is ready to intervene and take care of us when we need it.  What sorrow, what stresses, what uncertainty are we facing today?  What is generating a sense of loss or lost in our lives?  God is right here and ready to take us out of it and deliver us from our fears.  Trust Him because He never fails – David knew that and we can know it as well.  

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July 27 – No One Besides

“Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You...” 2 Chronicles 14:11 (NASB)

It was in 910 B.C. that Asa became King of Judah.  During his reign the Southern Kingdom was threatened by its enemies. These words are part of a prayer Asa offered seeking help from the Lord God.  The Bible says that Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord and trusting God for the help in this circumstance was part of that.  This prayer sounds like a real prayer of  faith, doesn't it?  It was a prayer which God could answer and the following verses record that God did indeed act in great power.  We can join with King Asa in recognizing that our God is real, that He is powerful and that He can do what no one else can do.  Asa recognized that he was powerless to act in the situation which faced him.  He also recognized that there was no one besides God who could help.   We need also to see that we must depend on God to carry us through all situations, not only the difficult ones but each day we acknowledge that we need God and that He promises to help when we call.  

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July 11 – Surely He Will – He Said He Would

“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.” Isaiah 41:10 (NASB)

There are many reasons why we hold this verse as one of our most frequently recalled verses.  Today's verse has been chosen because it has several promises.  We will focus mostly on the last one. God promises to uphold His children with His righteous right hand.  God can promise this because He is a righteous God.  According to common definition, that means that He does what is right.  So when He holds us up with His righteous right hand, He does it to help us do what is right. And he will surely do it even when we doubt that He is.  We don't naturally always do what is right and God knows that we need His help for that.  So lets allow His hand to uphold us, to keep us doing what is right and proper.  And let's be sure we do what He prompts us to do, do not fear, do not be anxious, believe in God, trust He will strengthen us, help us and in that way He upholds us and we can rest in the battle.  God's hand is righteous and He will never fail.

December 18 – Confidence in Promises

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)

You who follow this daily blog may have heard this verse before but it may also be a new truth from the Bible for some.  It teaches and reminds us to turn to God in prayer when we need His help. We are using this verse today to help us remember how great our God is. Our verse speaks of the Throne of Grace. The one who sits on a throne is a king. A throne speaks of power and of authority. Yes, friends, our God has great power and authority and demands justice. But, He is also very gracious and loving and merciful. The throne our God sits on is a Throne of Grace. So when we do approach Him for help, He is not only able to help, He longs to help us. Because of His mercy and grace, He has promised to help us when we come to him.  If you need help from God, He promises to give it to you – you can have confidence in that promise. 

November 8 – Hope. Help. Shield.

“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.” Psalm 33:20-21 (NIV) 

It is the will of our Father in heaven that we experience true joy in believing in Him. And those who have put their trust in the Lord do experience that joy. Our verses today remind us of what happens when we trust in the name of the Lord. Isn't it true that when we hear the name of the Lord, our heart responds with real joy. That's because the name of the Lord represents what we know about His love, His care for us. So when we simply hear His name we think of all He has done and all He is doing for us. Today, trust His promise and wait in hope for the Lord and trust in His holy name. 

September 28 – Waiting and Trusting

“Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” Isaiah 64:4 (NIV)

We fully concur with these words of the prophet Isaiah. Words which he expressed to God in praise. Words which were true almost 2800 years ago. And, during all these years and ever since the beginning of time there has be no other true God who has taken care of those who follow Him. Our God is the only one who can act on our behalf. He acts on our behalf whenever we give Him the chance. He has promised to do so which means we can trust Him to respond even in the times that we have to wait for Him to act. So, let's remember today that our God is the only God in heaven. He is Creator God and He knows our needs, He loves us, and He is the one who will care for us. No one has heard with the ear or seen with the eye any other besides our God who acts on our behalf as we wait for him.

July 31 – He Watches and Helps

“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:2 (NIV)

Isn't it wonderful to know that our great God who made the whole universe gets involved in our lives even though we are so small in comparison? The psalm we are looking at today reminds us how God helps us – this is a promise. There are eight verses in Psalm 121 and in five of them we read that the Lord watches over us. Let's read one other of these verses – the last one, verse 8. “The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”  The promise is that as we come and go each day my friend, let's not forget that our Lord is actively watching over us. And, let's remember that it is He, the Maker of heaven and earth. He actually pays attention to us. 

July 8 – Here To Help Us

“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)

Our God is a very personal God and He deals with each of His followers in a personal way. He gave us this  promise to His people through His prophet Isaiah. When our lives are shaken by circumstances inwardly and outwardly we can let the Lord speak to us through the words of this verse. These are words of assurance for us to know that God is very much involved with our lives for our good. He wants us to reach out to him in faith today and he will reach back and take hold of our hand. We do not have to fear. We have His help available. Although these words were spoken many centuries ago to his people, they are also for each one of us today. God is here to help us and we do not need to face anything today by ourselves. Let's listen and let Him speak to us and help us.