Where does my help come from?

'I lift up my eyes to the mountains –    where does my help come from?' (Psalm 121:1)

There is probably not a person alive who has not, at some time in their life, found themselves in a really difficult situation and asked a question like the one written by the writer of Psalm 121 (the psalm was one of the set Bible readings for yesterday's church services).  We human beings were not created to live our lives in isolation from one another, and it is often in times of struggle or crisis that this reality really hits home.  There are some situations which we can face with far greater confidence when we have the support of others.  At times we need the comfort of good friends.

Into my mind has come a memory from my childhood.  I was playing cricket with some friends in the garden of our next door neighbours; perhaps I was 6 or 7 years of age at the time.  For some reason which escapes me, one of my friends decided to throw one of the wooden wickets with some force.  Unfortunately his aim was rather poor (I think!) and the said wicket crashed against my head.  Needless to say I was soon in tears and nursing a very sore head.  In that moment I was desperately in need of comfort, and knew that the the best source of comfort was my mum.  I ran home and into her arms.  It didn't make the pain go away but I definitely felt an awful lot better!

One day last week I was leading an assembly at the local primary school.  The school theme for the week was "Overcoming Your Fears".  I decided to tell the story of Jesus and the disciples in a boat in a storm.   The disciples feared for their lives as the storm grew very fierce and the waves swept over their boat, while Jesus lay sound asleep!  In their desperation they turned to Jesus, who, to their amazement, calmed the storm with a word.  As I told the story, I encouraged the children to join in by doing actions and making noises (wind, waves etc.); they seemed to enjoy doing so.  The disciples overcame their fears by turning to the only One who could help them.

There can be few things more precious in life than to have good friends and/or family to whom we can turn in times of need.  But sometimes even our friends let us down, or maybe there are some things which we face that we feel unable to share with those close to us.  In times like that we need to remember how the writer of Psalm 121 answers his own question:


'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.'

I love the definition of a true friend as “one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”  Not a bad description of the friendship we can find in Jesus.