It is an exciting thing to experience God as the living God. Too often we are so caught up in the routine of life, even church life, that we miss the drama of calling out to Him and knowing that He hears us and answers us. Biblical life is intensely personal. God has opened Himself up to us and we now enjoy a living relationship with Him. Since He is our King, He intervenes on our behalf with mighty acts of deliverance. He does not abandon us to the grinding laws of nature or to our foes.

Theoretically, if not historically, Psalms 123 and 124 go together. Psalm 123 is a prayer for God to act. Psalm 124 is Israel’s response to His action. The psalmist tells us that the enemies of Israel rose up against Israel with fury. Nevertheless, God was for His people, and He delivered them. As a result, He was blessed by Israel, and as we experience His deliverance we will join in that blessing.

In Psalm 124:1-8, we see an affirmation of God’s eternal vigilance for His people. The danger was so great, their helplessness so obvious, and deliverance so unlikely that if God had not intervened, utter ruin would have been inevitable.  Israel would have been devoured, drowned, and vanished. Her existence in this world was determined, not by economic and political strength, but by the God who called her into being and whom she worships. Similarly, we should not seek strength in weapons, economic might, or political strength. Real power comes from God.  

Some people see themselves as self-made men or self-made women. They brag about their hard work and their cleverness. They exalt themselves. King David was different. He understood that it was God who had given him gifts as a leader. His victories and escapes were not just luck or due to his skill, but God himself looking out for King David.

There is a danger of assuming that God is on our side. History is full of leaders who have wrapped their cause in the cloak of religion as a pretext to annihilate armies of other Christian nations. We as humans have an ugly way of justifying our sins. It is much better to ask, “Am I on God’s side?”

People often quote the proverb, “The Lord helps those who help themselves,” as if it were in the Bible. It isn’t. God helps those who look to Him in trust for deliverance and then are obedient to do as He shows them. He is our Helper, our Protector, our Deliverer, but not our servant. Rather, we are His servants, and because of that He takes responsibility to look out for us.

In his anti-war anthem, “With God on Our Side,” singer/songwriter Bob Dylan emphasized how often God is invoked to sanction the most ungodly of human causes and wars. King David reminded the Israelites of what would have happened to them if God had not been on their side when their enemies attacked, and the outcomes would not have been good. It is not always obvious to us what our lives would be like if God was not on our side. We may not realize it when He protects us from evil people, or accidents, or temptations, or poor choices, but God is always on our side.

Today we have to learn the same lesson. We assume that the existence of the church and its ministry depends on us. This is true in appeals for funds and in recruiting workers. We hear that if we don’t give money, the gospel won’t go out. We hear that if we don’t work, the job will not be accomplished. This is not true. God does not depend on us to accomplish His purposes. He is not sitting in heaven, biting His nails, wondering if we will give and go. If we do not praise Him, the rocks will cry out. The ministry is not ours; it is His. It is not accomplished by human effort, but by divine effort and through us.

There are times in all of our lives when our faith is tested. We come under attack. When everyone is against us and there seems to be a ‘torrent’ of ‘raging waters’-temptations, doubts, fears, and so on, these things can overwhelm us, but for the fact that the Maker of heaven and earth is on our side.

Psalm 124:7-8 says, “Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth!” Just as an animal caught in a trap must have help in order to escape, so to do we need help from Heaven to set us free from Satan’s grasp, That help is always available to us, and it is found in the name of Jesus. We can call on Him even when we are in the midst of desperate times, and He will answer us. He will pick us up out of trouble and place us under the shadow of His wings where His peace reigns.

We do not want to fight this battle alone. The enemy is too strong, too powerful, too cunning, too evil. If we go into the battle alone, we will be swallowed up, engulfed, swept over, and swept away. We are not up for the fight. If we go into combat alone, we will be defeated. Not “if”, not “When?”, but “For Sure!” Unless our help is in the name of the Lord, we must be ready for a shellacking.

It is not simply a lack of strategy but a lack of sense to fight without the Lord. The battle belongs to Him. The Maker of heaven and earth is more than capable of handling the enemy. The wise warrior, the winning warrior has this written on his heart: “My help is in the name of the Lord!”

God has not allowed our enemies to devour us. We have escaped the traps they have set for us. It doesn’t matter if the trap has been broken by God or by us. The point is that God is on our side, and it is only because of this that we are free. God teaches us in His Word to encourage each other by verbally reminding one another of how He has acted on our behalf in the past. We are not called to “go it alone” in our walk of faith.

Someone once wrote to Dr. Billy Graham and asked, “Often I’ll find myself sincerely wishing that God would do something about a problem I’m having, but is that the same as praying about it? Is hoping something will happen the same as praying that it will?” In his reply, Dr. Graham wrote, “No, simply wishing things will change, or hoping that God will do something about a difficult situation we’re facing isn’t the same thing as praying about it. Hoping our problems will get better is only an inner emotion: prayer is actually talking to God about them.  True prayer requires at least three things: First, it requires our helplessness. Then true prayer also requires actually talking to God. Finally, true prayer involves trust-trust that God loves us and knows what is best for us, and trust also that He hears us and will answer us when we pray.”

The God who designed our world is the God we pray to. When we face difficulties for which we see no solution, we must take time to reflect on all that He has created. If He can create our world and all that exists in it, He can solve the problems we face.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 793)
2. Williams, D., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 14: Psalms 73-150 (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1989; pp. 400-403)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010; pp. 828-829)
5. Pastor Allen Jackson, “He Takes Sides.” Retrieved from contact@allenjacksonministries.com
6. Vikki Burke, “God Will Protect and Deliver You.” Retrieved from paul@ncmcanada.com
7. Ron Moore, “Our Help is in the Name of the Lord.: Retrieved from www.ronmoore.org
8. Tony Robinson, “God On Our Side.” Retrieved from dailydevotional@ucc.org
9. “Three Ways You Can Exercise Faith.” Retrieved from bibleinoneyear@htb.org.uk
10. Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, “Psalm 124. God is Our Help in Trouble.” Retrieved from jh@joyfulheart.com
11. Dr. Harold Sala, “Find Out How to Make Your Problem Look Smaller.” Retrieved from info@guidelines.org
12. The Rev. Dr. Billy Graham, “Is Hoping Something Will Happen the Same as Praying That it Will?” Retrieved from www.arcamax.com/healthandspirit/religion/billygraham/