Strength and Help in Times of Trouble

Strength and help. The shaky voice on the other end of the phone set my mind to searching. My loved one needed something solid to hold onto. Behind the request for prayer, I recognized a desperation and a heartfelt desire to know that God would help.

What helps me the most when I struggle? What conveys the ability of our heavenly Father to rescue and sustain when I am afraid of the unknown? The scripture that came to mind has carried me through many trials, offering the promise of strength, confidence, and God’s immediate response to my cries for help, along with the certainty that He is with me no matter what.

Your bars shall be iron and bronze,
    and as your days, so shall your strength be.

 “There is none like God, O Jeshurun,
    who rides through the heavens to your help,
    through the skies in his majesty.
The eternal God is your dwelling place
    and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Deuteronomy 33:25-27

Strength and Help through God’s Provision

Throughout the time of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt, God proved His love for Israel. Beginning with the miraculous escape from Pharaoh to the parting of the Red Sea and His provision for every need, God revealed His faithfulness.

When Moses spoke his final blessing over the people he had led for forty years, he aimed to remind them of what they had survived and how they had matured in their understanding of God. He promised that God would continue to equip them as they moved into the Promised Land.

From forging implements for daily tasks to weapons strong enough to defeat their enemies, iron and bronze were the most reliable metals available. The bars of iron and bronze convey the message of protection, a fortress surrounding me that nothing can penetrate. As well as a fortress, God promises to provide the exact amount of strength to meet each day’s needs.

Strength and Help to Live with Courage

Psalm 91 portrays our loving Father’s tender care in times of danger. “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust,” the psalmist writes. Centuries after Moses, the experience of this writer is the same. He trusts God as a faithful, constant protector. Throughout the rest of the psalm, he details the many ways God cares for him.

“There is no one like the God of Jeshurun” (an ancient name for Israel). This God is so mighty, so desirous of helping that He rides through the heavens immediately when danger threatens. Picture a mighty warrior, sword in one hand, the reins of His chariot in the other, racing over the waves of clouds at your cry for help.

Psalm 46:1 says He is “an ever-present help in trouble.” God knows our every need and protects us from many threats we never even see. My cry for help no sooner forms in my thoughts than He is there. Joshua 1:9 says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Psalm 118:6 tells us, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

Abiding in God

“The eternal God is your dwelling place and underneath are the everlasting arms.” This protection from our heavenly Father is not a one-time thing. His everlasting arms surround and support us throughout our lives on earth, constant in every trial and storm. Add to that the fact that He is eternal and unchanging.

Notice, however, what God desires for us: He desires to be our dwelling place. Look back at Psalm 91 again: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

John 15, one of the most beautiful passages in all of scripture, illustrates what it means to abide or dwell with the Lord. Verses 6 and 7 read: “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” This speaks of relationship.

The Father Cares for His Own

You care about your neighbor’s children, but not in the way you care for your own, those you love and bear ultimate responsibility for. However, if they come to you with a request, you would send them to their parents, whose responsibility it is to provide for them.

In the same way, God loves all of His creation. However, those He calls by name, who have trusted in Him for salvation, and seek Him with their whole hearts, have a different relationship with Him; they are His sons and daughters. These are the ones He calls His sheep. The apostle John writes in John 10:29, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” His children have eternal security through their relationship with Him.

Entering into a Relationship with Jesus Christ

What is your relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you simply believe He exists, but make no commitment beyond that? James 2:19 says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”

We are called to go beyond mere belief in the existence of Jesus Christ. He invites us to take a step of faith and commit totally and completely to Him without reservation, holding nothing back. This is what it means to abide, to dwell with Him—trusting Him with abandon, offering everything we are and trusting Him for everything His word tells us He is. Only then can we truly experience His mighty help and trust Him for eternal victory, whether or not we see it here on earth.

Will you trust Him with everything? Would you commit yourself, not just to believe in Him, but to believe Him?

Offer Him whatever concerns you, trusting that He will grant the best outcome, the outcome that is for your good and His glory. You will never regret it, and you will never be the same.