God, our refuge and sure help in trouble

Bishop Taiwo Akinola

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed ~ Psalms 46:1-2a.

Introduction:
If glorifying God and fulfilling your destiny on earth are your highest goals in life, then divine help is your most essential need. When there is no merit, half is gone; but, when there is no help, all is gone.
It is common knowledge that help is most usually cherished at the hours of dire need (Deuteronomy 33:29). However, we need God even in the infinitesimal details of our lives. Missing God is missing God’s help.
The persistent cry in most hearts today is for a real, lasting and effective help for our numerous needs. Over time though, man has given various names to this under different climes and cultures, yet our cry remains unassuaged and unabated. Notwithstanding, true and lasting help is available only in the Lord (Psalms 124:1-8).
Help is a very significant refrain in the history of God’s ways. Divine help is the fountain of victory and the seed-plot of all genuine accomplishments on earth. Beloved, as genuine children of God, we are privileged to enjoy help from above at any time of need.
All that matters in life is who stands by you! No one in a right relationship with God, irrespective of his present estate, has a good reason to feel despondent or helpless. The lower you are, the stronger is God’s urge to lift you up (Job 5:8-11; Psalm 113:7-9).
From Bible notes on creation, we observe that ‘suitable help’ was one of the earliest provisions God made for man (Genesis 2:18). At that time, Adam was totally oblivious of his closest personal needs, yet God who knows all things came to his rescue and gave him a suitable help for a companion.
It is in the character of God to help the helpless. In fact, the Bible reveals that God constantlyrides ‘upon the heaven’ to help those who hope in Him (Deuteronomy 33:26). At a point, a memorial stone of help, Ebenezer, was actually erected to commemorate God’s numerous helps to His people (1Samuel 7:10-12).

A Cry for God’s Mercy
It is greatly encouraging to hear God is always with us to help us (2 Chronicles 32:8; Job 6:13). However, those who will benefit from God’s help must be ready to cry unto Him like Asa did (2 Chronicles 14:11). Indeed, any care that is too small to turn to passionate prayer must be too little to worry about.
In Matthew 15:21-28, we found an interesting account of a woman who got to a momentous point in her life where she knew she needed divine help more than merit. ‘Have mercy on me’, she cried. Afterwards, Jesus commended her faith for divine help and ministered solution to her troubled daughter.
The stunning experience of the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19 equally followed that course. In their pathetic estate, the lepers stood up and cried out for divine help: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us”. Even though their cry appeared ill-fated from the onset, yet it produced one of Jesus’ most amazing miracles of supernatural assistance.
Again, the healing of blind Bartimaeus and the deliverance of a lunatic girl in Canaan also confirm that those who cry unto God for mercy don’t ever suffer inattention, neither do their prayers fall on deaf ears (Mark 10:46-52; Matthew 15:22-28).
Please allow your soul to freely cry out to God for help regarding your situation (Mark 9:22-24). All those who make Him their Sure Help find him mightily so (2 Chronicles 18:31). Without any doubt, “happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help” (Psalm 146:5).
Nothing great or precious is ever achieved without enthusiasm. This was the secret that David learned early in life that attracted him to greatness, dignity and a lasting fame (Psalm 3:1-3; 121:1-2). We must cry for the help of God at all times so we too can attract and enjoy it maximally.

Ignoring God’s Help Results in Utter Helplessness
Let us be aware that whoever misses divine help cannot find real help from any other quarters. Why? Missing God’s help bespeaks utter helplessness. David said, ‘Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence’ (Psalm 94:17).
Moreover, seeking help outside God is a very dangerous distraction, which can only attract sadness and despair: ‘woe to them that go down to Egypt for help’ (Isaiah 31:1). At any rate, ‘vain is the help of man but happy is the man that has God for his help’ (Psalms 60:11; 108:12).
The reality of life is that most men are not inclined to helping others, and even when they are, they are often limited. King Benhadad of Syria besieged Samaria to the point that Jehoram, King of Israel, was so frustrated that he became an artful-dodger upon the wall of Samaria.
Under that horrid circumstances of despair and national tragedies, Jehoram could not be of help, even to a very desperate woman, and he said unto her: ‘If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?’ (2 Kings 6:27). Indeed, it is a wise counsel that we look up to God for help rather than men at our hours of need.

God Doesn’t Double-Deal!
It strikes a very joyous symphony to know that God will not assist a man and help the man’s enemy at the same time: ‘Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers…’ (Job 8:20-22).
God is not a ‘political god’. He doesn’t double-deal, neither does He need favor or approval from any man. Hence, for as long God is at work in your life, your enemies remain hopelessly incapacitated. When God chooses to support you, He has made His choice and the only alternative left for your enemies is to plead for a peace accord with you.
Friends, the angels of light are busy lending their hands of supernatural assistance to humanity at the present moment, and they are in your address right now. Open up in faith and receive your own portion, even at this precarious time. You will not go down, neither will you die helpless, in Jesus Name. Amen. Happy Sunday!
Bishop Taiwo Akinola, is the Presiding Bishop of Rhema Christian Church,Sango Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

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