My Help Is Big Help!

"I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1,2

This verse will always be in my head in song form. And then after I'm done thinking of the song that I heard a lot growing up, I picture a nun, and stained glass windows and the movie The Sound of Music. Now there was a real-life situation where a family relied on God for His help. That movie was eerily accurate to how life truly was for the Von Trapp family, except that what the movie failed to convey was the family's devotion to God. They spent prayer time together as a family, and whenever a situation arose, the family frequently turned to their knees and their Lord for guidance. Eventually when they made their way to the United States, they toured with their music, and most of their music was deeply spiritual, and it meant something to them, they weren't just singing the words, they were living and breathing it.

Most of us will never face a situation as dire as Nazi occupation. Thank God for that. Thank God mightily for that, that we live in a nation where the idea of conflict on our soil is hard to fathom. Yet today is a day to remember when someone did try to attack our nation, and succeeded on some levels. During the days after the terrorist attacks, it was a major time of reflection for everyone. I remember that at that time, we weren't attending a church, and I had such an inner desire and need to simply go to church and spend time with God. And it wasn't too long after that when we did decide that it was time to take our young daughter to church each week. But even during that point in my life when God wasn't much of a presence in my mind, I wanted to turn to God first in a moment of crisis. After all, who else would I turn to?

And while today is a time of reflection and a reason to give thanks, it's also a reason to rejoice! For look at this verse! When trouble comes our way and we need help, where do we get that help? Why, our help comes from the Lord, who is mighty indeed. He is so mighty, He is the one who made the heavens and the earth. Our help just can't get much better than that! The being who created everything is the one we turn to in times of need, and he will most certainly come through for us. If he could conceive of and create the world around us, he can definitely help us through our troubles. And then we can share the solution of our troubles with those around us. When people ask "how every did you make it through?" We can smile and share the joy that we know as our Heavenly Father. We can share the love He has for us, and for those around us. The idea of being able to share His love and His help is almost enough to make me want trouble, just so that we can have more opportunities to show others what God wants to do for them too. So while we can be grateful for His Help in times of trouble, we can also be thankful for the times of trouble, because they are times of opportunity- not only can we draw closer to Him while mounting our struggles, but we'll have an incredible testimony to share later on. God loves us and wants to help us, but it is our job when all is said and done to give God the credit for the victory.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1