Where Do We Look for Help?

I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Ps 121:1-2

Some translations give the impression that we look to the hills for our help. For those under siege in biblical times, that is exactly where they looked. It was on the hills surrounding a city where a relieving army would first appear. When the Lord opened the servant of Elisha’s eyes, “he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

But that’s not where this psalmist was looking. While he would naturally look to the surrounding hills for help, he knew that his help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Whatever is happening in the earthly realm, God is our final provider.

When it comes to making a living, we often have a skewed mindset. We need a job so our employer will provide an income. Or we scratch for some income from the government for disability, retirement or unemployment to enable us to pay our bills. In doing so, we look to the hills!

It was an eye-opener for me to realized that these resource people and agencies were simply God’s means for our supply. He is beyond and above the hills—He is their Maker—and is our ultimate resource. This is what Jesus had in mind when He told us not to worry about today’s needs, for “your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

Our problem, of course, is translating faith into practice. Can we trust God when other resources fail?