WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DECEMBER 09, 2024
TOPIC: WHERE DOES YOUR HELP COME FROM?
BY T. O. BANSO
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help?” (Psalm 121:1 New King James Version).
Everybody needs help in one area or the other. Whoever says he doesn’t need help may soon need it. Nobody is sufficient and nobody has the answers to all life’s questions. Only God does.
However, the question is: who do you look to for help? Some people look to friends, relations, etc. Thank God if the issues at stake are what they can intervene in and help. But, sometimes, there are some kinds of help that they can’t render. The woman with the issue of blood could not be helped by the physicians of her day. She bled for 12 years until she met Jesus who healed her (Mark 5:25-34).
Furthermore, some people patronize the people with demonic power for help. When some people need help, they run to different people, including the devil’s agents because of the pressure on them. Though they may promise to help, the repercussions are regrettable, including hellfire as the destination.
People who do not know how to look to God for help will be at the mercy of problems and circumstances or fellow humans. When God helps one, one will do what other human beings can’t even imagine can happen in one’s life for good. But if a human being helps you, he will hardly help you up to his level because the natural man first protects his interest. Most people will not help you to the level they are but God can help you above them.
The psalmist said, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help?” (Psalm 121:1 New King James Version). Probably, as explained by the Amplified Bible, the psalmist was referring to the hills of Jerusalem. The Israelites believed the hills surrounding Jerusalem, especially Mount Zion, to be the “dwelling place of God” (Berean Study Bible). From where does your help come? Where or who are you looking to, for help? The psalmist answered: “My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth” (verse 2 New King James Version).
Are you looking to God for help or to man? Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (New King James Version). God doesn’t abandon His children in times of trouble. He is always present, not to watch them subdued by trouble but to help them. He is ever-present in times of trouble to help.
When you face difficult situations or problems, you should look to God. But some people look to human beings. They only make God the last resort after human beings have failed them. What hills are you looking for help other than God? “Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains; truly, in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel” (Jeremiah 3:23 New King James Version).
Look to God for help, not to man. Of course, God uses human beings but you don’t know who He wants to use to help you. Look to God and let Him use whoever He chooses to use. Psalm 60:11 says, “Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless” (New King James Version).
While some people neglect God and run after human beings for help, God is positioning human beings to help those who look to Him for help. God will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5b). He won’t abandon you in times of need. Look to Him for help. “They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed” (Psalm 34:5 New King James Version). The New Living Translation says, “Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.”
David, the writer of Psalm 34, continues: “In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles” (verse 6 New Living Translation). What the Lord did for David, He will do for you, too, if you put your trust in Him to help you.
See again what David said: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing” (verses 8-10 New King James Version).
Put your trust in the Lord for help. Cry to Him for help. Don’t give the impression that you don’t need God because you already have people to help you. Even if some people have promised to help you or are already helping you, don’t let them replace God in your life. Otherwise, you will fail miserably.
In some of the psalms written by David, he cried to God for help. In Psalm 22:19, he cried, “But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me!” (New King James Version). Similarly, he cried in Psalm 38:22, “Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!” (New King James Version). Also, in Psalm 40:13, he cried, “Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me!” (New King James Version). David also cried to God for help in Psalms 70:1 and 109:26.
No matter what you’re going through, call upon the Lord to help you. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13). He knows how He will get help across to you. The Prophet Isaiah said, “For the Lord God will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed” (Isaiah 50:7 New King James Version). God will not allow you to be stranded; He won’t allow you to be disgraced. He will help
God is not far from you; He is near you. He will help you. “He is near who justifies Me; who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me. Surely the Lord God will help Me; who is he who will condemn Me? Indeed they will all grow old like a garment; the moth will eat them up” (Isaiah 50:8-9 New King James Version). Surely, the Lord will help you. Look to Him. God shall help you, just at the break of dawn (Psalm 46:5b).
Every problem of life responds to the help of God with whom nothing is impossible (Matthew 19:26). Look to God for help and obey His instructions. David said, “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved” (Psalm 16:8 New King James Version).
Don’t lean to your understanding (Proverbs 3:5b). Trust in the Lord for help. Jeremiah 17:5-8 compares the man who trusts in a fellow man and the man who trusts in the LORD – the former is cursed and the latter is blessed. Don’t trust in chariots and horses to help you; trust in the LORD your God (Psalm 20:7). By strength, no man shall prevail (1 Samuel 2:9b). God does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man (Psalm 147:10).
Psalms 123:1-2 says, “Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us” (New King James Version). Where does your help come from? Is it from the chariot and horses, or the Lord? Do you look to Him or human beings? Make the Lord your helper. Boldly say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6 New King James Version).
I pray for you: “In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry. May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm. May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem” (Psalm 20: 1-2 New Living Translation).
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. Take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner, and cannot save yourself, and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, thank You for being my help in the past. I trust in You to help me now and in the future. Father, my help comes from you, not from any human being. Help me Lord, on every life issue. Send me help from above and strengthen me. Make haste to help me, Lord.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit: www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
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