In Need of His Help

But I am poor and needy; yet the LORD thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God. Psalm 40:17 (NKJV)

This is one of those verses I so often want to slip my name into and live with its realization in my life. When I am spent, confused, hurt, discouraged, or in tremendous need, I must allow this verse to wrap itself around my spirit. When everyone else’s life seems to be moving on and I am feeling so alone, I take comfort in the fact that God is thinking of me. He is fully aware of the depth and length of my pain. When I feel helpless and no human help is forthcoming, He is my help and my deliverer. Those are the words that assure me I will make it through whatever I am facing. He even allows for my plea for speed. While David said, “Do not delay,” my version would be, “And hurry up! I need Your intervention now!” It is not spoken out of demand but rather out of desperation.

I am thinking of several dear friends this morning whom this verse fits as well. Some have been given a medical diagnosis that has turned their world upside down, some have just buried a loved one, some are facing the heartbreak of a child’s choices, some are facing an unwanted divorce, and some do not live a day without extreme physical pain. My heart breaks for them and my tears fall for them as I pray this verse over their life and situation. When I struggle to find the right words to tell them or the right way to show them how much I care, I once again entrust them to their only real Helper and Deliverer. While I cannot even begin to scratch the surface of their pain or loss, God is able to reach to the very center of it. Where He allows me to be His hands, feet, heart, and mouth to them I will certainly be that to them in the ability He gives. But when it is all said and done, His direct ministering to them one on one will be what sustains them each step of the way. I am looking to Him to deliver, preserve, and strengthen each of them in ways that only He can do.

It is true that we no longer live in the Garden but the Gardener of our soul has not deserted us. He is tending to our every need, cultivating growth in us, and landscaping our lives with His Word. None of this is said to minimize the pain and suffering but rather to maximize the view of God’s abundant grace!

Father, in the midst of our sorrow we look to You to carry us. Strength, healing, and redemption will only come through You. Amen.