Psalm 146

1Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3Do not put your trust in princes,
Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
4His spirit departs, he returns to his earth;
In that very day his plans perish.
5Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,
7Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.
8The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord raises those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
9The Lord watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.
10The Lord shall reign forever—
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
-Psalm 146

Be honest with yourself, where do you put your hope in times of distress? It could be that you place it in a close friend. Maybe you run to comforts like ice cream and a movie. Perhaps you flee to work to keep yourself busy. Or you may walk in what this Psalm is saying and run to the Lord for your help. If so, praise the Lord! The Lord is ready for us to come before Him as our help. I think much of our hesitation is rooted in doubt of reliability. Humans are very predictable creatures. We run to what we have found reliable. The problem is, the vast majority of what we run too is not actually reliable. It is a temporary distraction from our problems. It allows time to settle our hearts with difficult situations. However, just accepting a situation does not resolve it.

The Lord is the only reliable help for us. In the Lord, we live in a win win life. To live is Christ and to die is gain. If our lives are committed to Him, nothing can take that away. If the inevitable happens and we see our own death, we still win. Entrust yourself to the Lord and call upon Him as your help. Where all else fails, He succeeds. He is Faithful and trustworthy. Above it all, He cares for you. Praise the Lord God Most High!