So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
Hebrews 13:6
When it comes to opening presents, how do you figure out which one to open first? What’s your strategy? What’s your plan? How do you do it? Do you look over who the presents are from and open them based on who’s the most important person to you? Or who’s got the most money?
Or maybe you let your senses do the deciding for you. Looking them over carefully, do you go after the biggest present first? Do you carefully lift each present, feeling how heavy it is? Looking at how expensive the wrapping paper is and how carefully they taped it together?
Personally speaking, I’m a graduate from the “bigger is better” school of gift receiving. I always look for the biggest present first. After all, if it’s biggen, then it has to be better. More expensive. More fun. More exciting. More valuable.
But what do you do when there’s more than one present that’s about the same size? How can you figure out which one to open first? Then we go to the pick it up and figure out which one weighs more. Because, as we all know, heaver is better.
I can tell you for sure that the writer to the Hebrews wasn’t thinking about presents and which one to open first. But they were thinking about something close to it. They were putting their priorities in line. They were going to pick the most important thing to say first. And so they did.
We do the same. When it comes to what’s most important when something happens, our priorities quickly come out. It’s not just hard to hide them, it’s impossible. Without thinking, we’ll act to protect what’s important. We’ll first ask about what’s the most valuable thing to us.
Our son was living in Aurora, Colorado when a mass shooting happened in a movie theater around midnight. The next morning, the news and social media were flooded with coverage and information about the tragedy. When we heard about it, our first reactions and calls were to see if he was safe. And then calls started coming in from concerned family and friends.
Now this probably doesn’t shock anyone reading these words, but checking in on the safety of family immediately comes up first. When there’s even a shadow of a doubt, we want to know that they’re OK. We stop everything else to ask about the most important people in our lives.
So, when it comes to the writer reminding the Hebrews about what’s most important, they don’t just bring up a what. Not on your life. They go directly to the who. The Lord. The God who made heaven and earth. The all-knowing, all-powerful Lord of the universe. But they don’t exactly go in that direction.
Yes, they start with The Lord, but they take the Hebrews in an unusual direction. The Lord’s not just out there somewhere. Or that The Lord is some spiritual customer call center who takes your call in the order it was received. The Lord’s not even just a helper either.
Look at how The Lord is described. He’s my helper. More than just having personal information about them, The Lord is personally involved with them. He knows them by name and as an individual. And he’s their helper. The Lord knows them and their problems.
In the middle of all the problems and persecutions that the Hebrews are going through, The Lord hasn’t left them all alone. He didn’t kick them out of the house and say, “OK, you got yourself into this mess. Now get yourself out of it.”
As a matter of fact, it’s just the opposite. The Lord is personally involved in their lives and situation. And he’s not just sitting on the sidelines of life. Not on your life. He’s their helper. He runs to their side and will take care of them. He’s never late, he’s always there right on time.
Yes, The Lord was and is a helper to the Hebrews. And The Lord is also our helper right here and now. Right in the middle of what’s going on in our lives, The Lord is near. The Lord is involved. The Lord is there to help. He helps in these two powerful ways.
Solve it. When Jesus healed someone, or raised them from the dead, he solved the problem. What was once right there, staring them in the face, was gone for good. It’s so easy to see this and to jump up and down with great excitement. Praising The Lord with all our voice.
Through it. There are times when The Lord doesn’t change our circumstances. When that great, big, ugly, painful problem just won’t go away. But he does change our address. Instead of being alone, The Lord comes close and becomes our helper.
The Lord is also our helper. He’s the one who’s always in the know. Nothing even gets past him. Our first thought and reaction needs to be calling on The Lord. Why? Because he’s the only one who can always, always, always be our helper. No matter what.
Noodling Questions
How do you figure out what’s the first thing to do before everything else?
Why do some things just never get done?
Explain how having God as our helper helps with figuring out priorities?
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