The Lord is My Helper

Life is rarely smooth. Rarely do we live this life without encountering at least patches of difficulty. For some these are not patches but are more like a marathon of trouble.
In our readings today, we saw many troubles, often caused by other people. Moses and Aaron had trouble caused by Korah, Dathan and Abiram. They questioned their authority. Korah asked, "Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?" Others blamed them for making themselves princes over the people. In light of such opposition what does one do?
I think if Moses and Aaron were dependent on the approval of others, this might have devastated them. If they had tied their value as people in what others thought of them, this would have crushed them. If this was the case they might have fought for the approval of others. They might have defended themselves. But that was not the case. They had been appointed by God for the task; Moses had even been reluctant to take the task, so in the midst of this challenge they simply went to God. They went to the One from whom their position and all other things flowed, and God showed very clearly what His will was.
David, too, had many detractors. Saul chased him around the countryside. Doeg and the Ziphites spoke against David. Many were speaking evil of David and desiring his downfall. So what did David do? He looked to the source of His leadership, yes, of his very life, and declared (Psalm 54:4) "Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life." In the midst of His trial, He looked to the only source of real help - the Lord.
The same message was found in Hebrews 13 as well. The author tells his readers to be "free from the love of money, and to be content with what you have..." He then tells why this is to be the case. He says, "For he has said,'I will never leave you nor forsake you." Is that what you expected the author to say? It did take me by surprise but when I thought about it, it made great sense.
Why be content? We can be content because if we have the Lord, what else do we need? We don't need money, we don't need fame, we don't even need life to be comfortable and easy. The author lands at the same place as Moses and David when he says in verse 6: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"
Brothers and sisters, when we have Jesus as our life, when His life is filling us and completing us, we don't need anything else. Then when those rough patches come our way; when people rise up against us, we will not fall apart, because with Christ we always have all that we need.
Are you going through a trial right now? Is it getting you down? Take a moment to think about what you have in Christ. Call on Him as your helper. Let His presence and resources settle your soul with great peace and confidence as you ride out the rest of the challenge.