HELP

“For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” (Isa 41:13 AV)

Sometimes we don’t know exactly what to pray for.  So, we pray for help.  This is a great answer to a very genuine need.  I was reminded of this verse upon last night’s prayer time.  Asking for help comes with an understanding, though.  At least it did for me.  We pray for things is all sorts of ways.  Sometimes we pray for an expected end. We want the LORD to do certain things or solve certain problems in certain ways.  At other times, we pray and seek the LORD’s wisdom in how or what to pray for.  There are times when every avenue of prayer is exhausted, but we know we still need to pray.  We extrapolate the consequences of answered prayer and realize that maybe we simply do not know how to pray or for what outcome we seek.  It is at those times when asking for help in whatever form God may offer it is the proper prayer to pray.  That was the case for me last night.

Help can be a fluid thing.  Help offered is contingent on the circumstances one faces.  Those circumstances change.  I cannot begin to tell you how much this verse means to me.  And it was very timely.  We are facing major changes of life.  A lot of unknowns.  Lisa has cancer and complications from her initial surgery.  We are at the point where benefits are a bit too far away, but the ability to provide our own is becoming a challenge.  This is extra concerning because of healthcare costs.  We are not alone.  Millions of people face the same thing.  Life does not get easier as one ages.  It gets far more complicated.  We are approaching the age when options become limited and needs tend to grow.  There are choices that must be made, and the horizon seems impossible.  The race you are running gets ever narrower and there seem to be far less off-ramps.  It is so complicated that answers seem fleeting.  The petitioner doesn’t know exactly how to fix it, so he or she doesn’t know what to ask for.  That, or the challenges seem so daunting that even if the answers come, it is beyond the ability of the seeker to apply them.  This is why a simple four-letter prayer is so effective. H-E-L-P

Sometimes assurance of help promised is more precious than the help that actually comes.  I don’t know exactly what the LORD will do.  According the promise above, there is a commitment on God’s part to care for those whom He loves.  He will help.  Not just because He can.  It is deeper than that.  He promises to help because He desires to and He takes pity on those who trust in Him.  The promise alone is sufficient for the moment.  Since help above is framed as a future act of God, the consolation isn’t in the assistance, but in the promise of it.  All I needed to hear from my parents was the word of promised help.  As I struggled with my homework, all I needed to hear was my father calling from afar the words, “just a minute and I will help you.”  It didn’t immediately solve the math problem I faced.  Rather, it gave me peace and patience.  Often, the promise of help quiets the heart enough to realize the help was always present.  Like the promise of my father’s help and a solution was on the way, cleared the mind of confusion so the answer could be seen all along!  God will help.  He loves to help.  That is His nature.  So, we must rest in the promise of that help because it is on the way.