When You Need Help

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading titled, When You Need Help, was written by Karen Huang. It was a Monday morning, but my friend, Jiaming, wasn't in the office.

He was at home cleaning the bathroom. A month unemployed, he thought, and no job leads. His firm had shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and worries about the future filled Jiaming with fear. I need to support my family, he thought.

Where can I go for help? In Psalm 121, verse 1, the pilgrims to Jerusalem asked a similar question about where to find help. The journey to the holy city on Mount Zion was long and potentially dangerous with travelers enduring an arduous climb.

The challenges they faced may seem like the difficult journeys we face in life today, trudging the path of illness, relationship problems, bereavement, stress at work, or, as in the case of Jiaming, financial difficulty and unemployment. But we can take heart in the truth that the maker of heaven and earth himself helps us. He watches over our lives, and he knows what we need. Shamar, the Hebrew word for watches over, means to guard. The creator of the universe is our guardian.

We're in his safekeeping. God took care of me and my family, Jiaming shared recently, and at the right time, he provided a teaching job. As we trust and obey God, we can look ahead with hope, knowing we're within the protective boundaries of his wisdom and love. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Psalm 121, a song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your shade at your right hand.

The sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life. The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore. Let's pray. Most Holy Father, thank you for being our source of help on our life's journey. When we're faced with things like financial insecurity and we don't know where our provision will come from, help us to remember that our provision has always come from you and that you will be faithful to meet our needs tomorrow, just like you have today. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Joyce Dinkins and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.