Help Is Where You Least Expect It

“Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.” (Ps 54:4 AV)

This psalm was written upon reflection of David’s disappointment with his own tribe, Judah.  When fleeing from Saul, David happened upon a city of Judah.  When he abode there, expecting his own tribe to protect him from the persecution of Saul, the turned him in.  His own tribe informed Saul of David’s whereabouts.  The previous verse expresses David’s dismay that his own people would not uphold his soul.  In Judah’s defense, David put them in an impossible situation.  Do they support the legitimate king of Israel, or, do they protect the future king of Israel?  There was no good choice here.  Even though David was right to be disappointed, he should have also been realistic.  What we can glean from this, though, is that if those closest to us cannot support us for one reason or another, God will provide those who can.  Whether it is a rejection for nefarious reasons, or simply because it cannot be done, there are those who are in a better position to be our encouragement.

There are times when the LORD asks us to go through things that give us the feeling that we are all alone.  I think every major example of the saints in the old testament went through this from time to time.  Moses certainly felt alone when the people of God rebelled while he was up on the mountain.  Elijah certainly felt alone when he ran from Jezebel.  Jonah certainly felt alone when he was in the whale’s belly.  Ezekiel felt alone when his wife died.  Job felt alone even though his three friends tried to encourage him.  Feeling alone is part and parcel of living for God.  In these times we hope those who truly understand us can be that source of encouragement we so desperately need.  But sometimes they either refuse to be, cannot be, or fail to be.  God never left David.  God was always there.  God also initially provided David with 400 men who swore their loyalty to him.  This betrayal of the Ziphites of Judah happened relatively early in his flight from Saul.  By the time Saul died, God provided 200 more men and a new wife to replace Michal, the daughter of Saul who was given to his friend to wife.

No matter how alone we may think we are, we are not.  There are those whom God has prepared to be a help to our soul even if those who are closest to us cannot.  Those whom God has prepared are probably the least we think capable of being a blessing or whom we perceive as unwilling.  God will not leave us alone.  He will provide that which we need to endure, grow, and thrive.  At first, they may not be our first choice.  However, being provided by God, they are the best choice.  One example and I am done.  Something I learned as a pastor is the minister of encouragement which God sends to you is often the humblest of all saints who may be disqualified for positions of leadership within the church.  He or she may have made a choice in life that prohibits him or her to stand as a leader among others.  But it is often these people who are the most effective in bearing up the arms of the king.  They are absent of all pretense.  They have no agenda.  They are there for one reason only.  To bless the soul of another