Got Help?

“O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!” ~Psalm 71:12

The California Gold Rush of 1849 brought nearly half a million people westward as they sought fortune and fame. Imagine leaving the security and convenience of home to travel by covered wagon with nothing more than a pickaxe, a sifting pan, and a dream! Facing the unknown around every bend, these brave “forty-niners” set out on their own to establish their legacy through grit, determination, and a bit of “luck.”  

The Homestead Act of 1862 offered a 160-acre parcel of land to any head of household willing to improve upon it. The requirements were simple: live on the land for five years, build a home, and utilize the property for sustenance. If, after five years, the homesteader fulfilled these requirements the entire property was granted to him free and clear. The amount of self-motivation, discipline, and independence to accomplish this is almost unthinkable in our day.

The 19th century demonstrated that we are a self-sufficient and ruggedly independent people — able to care for ourselves, work hard to secure our legacy, and successfully lay claim to any opportunity afforded to us.

Except we’re not self-sufficient. Nor are we independent. We are finite, contingent, and needy. We just don’t like to admit it.

The word “help” appears nearly two dozen times in the book of Psalms. It is used to describe God as our helper, but it usually appears when the psalmist cries out to God for the help only He can provide. Unlike many of us, the psalmist recognizes his dependence; he knows how needy he really is. All his sufficiency is in God, we might expect him to say (Psalm 121:1-2). Why are we so slow to ask for help, I wonder.

Perhaps we are informed more by our cultural affinity for independence and self-sufficiency (even if those days are really quite far behind us as a nation) than we are by God’s Word and a biblical anthropology. If the psalmist knew that his help was in the name of the Lord, and even Jesus turned to God in prayer during His hour of great need (Matthew 26:36-46), then oughtn’t we also be a praying people, eager to petition God for help?

Another way we can practically demonstrate awareness of our need for help is to enlist the encouragement, support, wisdom, and aid of our fellow Christians. This is a part of why the church is a community — we are called to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2) and to admonish, encourage, and help one another (I Thessalonians 5:14). Christians shouldn’t face difficulties alone, make decisions alone, deal with sin struggles alone, or even worship alone, since we are united to one another in Christ. 

Friends, do you know just how in need of help you really are? Then don’t put on a brave face the next time someone asks you how you’re doing. Tell them how they can help you, cry out to God for help, and experience the benefit of belonging to the household of faith.

Rev. Kyle Lockhart, Pastor of Teaching & Spiritual Formation