We live in a culture surrounded by busy-ness. We are obsessed with talk shows, blogs, emailing, texting, talking on the phone, gossiping, ect ect. So, when tragedy strikes, it’s no wonder we run straight to our group of friends, family member, coworkers, or any person willing to be a listening ear. We want people’s input, advice, comfort, support and a shoulder to cry on.
Today I read the below devotional. It speaks about how we are suppose to run to Jesus with our fears, hopes, anxieties, and tragedies.
I am not new to this concept. Being raised in Church, I KNOW the protocol for ‘who shall I run to’ syndrome. But, I’ll be the first to admit, it’s hard to remind myself to lean ONLY on God when hard times come. I am not saying that we shouldn’t utilized the friends/family that God has blessed us with. What I am saying is that He is supposed to be our refuge! I don’t know about you, but every time I lean too much on someone/something other than God I get myself into a WHOLE heap of trouble.
It’s SO hard for me sometimes because you can’t feel Him, you can’t touch Him, you can’t hear Him, you can’t see Him, there’s no physical comfort from life’s “storms” … but you know, that’s where Faith comes in. Faith carries us in those lonely, depressing times. I think God is showing His awesome-ness the most when we are spiritually/mentally/personally struggling bc He wants us to lean on Him! AND the more we lean the easier it becomes!
So, think about that next time you argue with your spouse, best friend, or loved one, or when your boss is a jerk at work, or you face a true tragedy .. don’t go ‘vent’ to a ‘listening ear’ vent to Him! Maybe if we involved Him in our small every-day task, our lives would run smoother bc we are trusting Him each step of the way.
Just something to think about.
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Where Does Your Help Come From?
Wendy Pope
“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come?”
Psalm 121:1 (NASB)
Devotion:
Where does your help come from? When crisis strikes, adversity hits, or sorrow shadows you, where do you go for help? How we answer this question truly reflects the depth of our belief that God is watching and waiting to come to our aid. I will be the first to admit that there are times when I struggle to look to the right source for my help.
Recently I have been studying the Psalms. Before I took an in-depth look at Psalm 121, I did not understand what the writer was seeing as he wrote this plea for help. The terrain surrounding him was mountainous. I’ve learned it was common for those walking by to look up in this mountainous landscape and see pagan worshippers worshiping their false gods on the mountaintops. When people had fears or needed a spell to ward off an evil spirit, they went to the mountaintops seeking help from the false gods, and pagan priests or priestesses.
After learning of these practices, I listened to the Psalmist’s cry with a different ear. He knew what help was held in the mountains surrounding him. He looked up and saw many receiving false help from false gods, and he cried out,” I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come?” Can you hear his plea?
Where does your help come from? What false help awaits you on the mountaintop of your horizon? In our day, there may not be a Baal, a sun priest, or a moon priestess on our mountains, but we turn to other sources of false help. Women all over the globe accept false hope from powerful media influences. Whether it is from a magazine purchased in the grocery checkout line, a book from the self-help aisle, or a popular channel on the television, we can see false help.
The next verse from the Psalmist’s pen is a declaration that I challenge us both to make. As women of faith, let’s turn off the false help of powerful media influences and declare with the Psalmist, “My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” This declaration will no doubt make the enemy of our world angry. He wants to keep our attention focused on the false help we have grown accustomed to receiving. He wants to keep us from the real, authentic, and loving help that comes from trusting the Maker of heaven and earth.
Will you accept the challenge? Instead of choosing a familiar channel on the remote control, take the time you would normally spend watching television and find a quiet place to talk the One who offers real help for the problems you may be facing. Refuse to purchase a new women’s magazine to read while in line or on your lunch hour, or chose a more wholesome one instead like the P31 Woman. Pick up your Bible and read about God’s perfect plan for your life, a plan to give you a hope and a future. Real help from a real God awaits you.
So, we are staying in our house!!! YEAH!! 
