Living water in the desert

“I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” – Psalm 121:1-2

It was a normal Friday, for the most part, down the mountain in the foothills. We had a lot of rain and wind as to be expected when Hurricane Helene was coming through. After some gusty winds that gave whistles outside the windows, the storm passed. Little did I know, the true storm was just beginning up the mountains. Much of my small city lost power, and large oak trees had fallen, but flooding was minimal. We began to hear reports and see pictures of the devastation in the mountains of North Carolina and surrounding areas. None of us were prepared for this, we did not see this coming.

Days went by when we tried to get ahold of loved ones in the areas hit hard to see if they were even alive. Many did not have ways to reach family and friends without power and service. Water had to be boiled (and still does in many places), and that was if families still had a house to have access to water. Survival mode set in; churches, organizations, and the military stepped in. I have heard constant helicopters and airplanes at the local airport taking supplies and rescuing people in more remote places. It sounded like I lived in a time of war. As the death toll rises and the stories come out of how the mountain towns appear
more like a Tsunami went through, they are living in a war-torn land against the floods that overtook them. People are all asking, “Where will my help come from?”

“I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from?”

This Psalm originally caused us to look at the beauty and the glory of the mountains. Mountains draw our eyes upwards and cause us to see how small we are in comparison. They remind us that God is bigger than our sin, our struggles, and the issues of this world. 

 However, as I reflect on this Psalm, I lift my eyes toward the mountains that have been devastated by a hurricane, I am reminded that in the glory and greatness and in the suffering and trials, we can be reminded where our help comes from. We are also invited to ask where it comes from.

The point is that we are looking to God. We engage with Him and question what He is doing in the disaster and the pain. We hold on to Him knowing that He has never let us go, even when everything around us appears to be crumbling. We cry out to Him in authenticity, but we keep our gaze on Jesus in the storm.

“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth”

The answer comes to us, that our help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. When we face unthinkable circumstances, when we feel small in life, or when we just want to understand Christ’s glory more, we remember to look up, that our help comes from Him always. He is the Maker of all things good. Heaven and earth are in His hands. When we are crying out to Him or feel overwhelmed at how great the need, but how little we can help, may we look to Him for help. When we forget to look up and want to look to anyone or anything else for help, may the Holy Spirit redirect our wayward hearts to look up to the mountains and to our Maker.

He offers perfect help. Not always in the ways that we would hope or imagine best, but He is trustworthy and has proven that He is and was and is to come. He is unchanging. He is Alpha and Omega. He is sovereign over all. He can work these hard things for good for those who love Him. He can take the gospel up the mountains to provide for physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of communities. He can work even in the most seemingly broken places. Where does our help come from? It comes from our Lord.