God is An Ever-Present Help in Time of Need

Help is a cry from the heart, when we call out because we recognise that we need assistance or intervention. When a problem seems too big, or too difficult, and beyond what we can deal with, then we reach out and ask for help. But when we know that God is an ever present help in time of need, this gives the confidence to ask for His help in any and every moment. When we do this, we create a space for God to move, we can step back and wait to see what He will do.

God is our Refuge and Strength an Ever Present Help in Trouble

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its water roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Psalm 46:1-3 NIV

Psalm 46 is a song that declares fearless trust in God through cataclysmic events. The psalmist makes a statement of confidence in God even through life-changing circumstances and overwhelming trouble. The words focus on the might and authority of God. But also on His ever flowing grace, from His presence to His people, that He is with them and He is their fortress. At the end of the psalm, God’s voice breaks through with a command to cease, to desist, to be still, and to know that He alone is God.

Psalm 46:1

God, you’re such a safe and powerful place to find refuge! You’re a proven help in time of trouble – more than enough and always available whenever I need you.

Psalm 46:1 TPT

The Passion Translation describes God’s ever-present help in a slightly different way, that He is a proven help. This comes from our reading and understanding of God’s help and assistance to His people in Scripture. But it also comes from our own experience, as we grow and mature in faith we have our own testimony, of God’s ever-present help.

It is the ‘knowing’ by experience that changes everything. As we learn to turn to God in prayer and receive His help with fear, loss, regret, disappointment, and all of the trials of life that we can encounter. When we begin to know for ourselves that God is ever-present, our strength, our shelter, our place of safety, readily to be found, and our help in times of trouble.

‘Ever-Present’ Meaning

Scripture teaches that God is Omnipresent, meaning that He is everywhere, that there is no place to which His knowledge and power do not extend. This is expressed throughout Scripture but most poetically in the psalms:

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths you are there….

Psalm 139:1-2

He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Psalm 121:3-4

…he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121:8

The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them.

Psalm 11:4

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Psalm 32:8

Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?

Psalm 113:5-6

These are just a few favourite verses from the psalms expressing God’s omnipresence. There is nowhere that we can go to hide from God’s presence, He watches over His people, at all times, wherever they are, and He is always alert. There is an assurance in the omnipresence of God, when we know His love, His grace and mercy. We find peace in the knowledge that at all times, wherever we are, whatever we are going through, God’s presence is always with us.

Related post: Where does my help come from?

God is an Ever-Present Help in Time of Need

Reflection

It was a nice morning and I had opened the back door to let my boys, who were then, age 2 and 5 to play outside in the garden while I cleared up in the kitchen. The garden was secure, a safe place for them to play, or so I thought. My elder son came into the kitchen and said: “Mummy you need to come and see what J is doing?” “Okay, so what is he doing?” “No, you need to come and see!”

I was unaware that my husband had left a ladder propped up against the garage wall, after he had been doing some work on the roof. Our hyperactive two-year old had climbed up the ladder and was running around on the garage roof. One of those heart-stopping moments and a quick fired prayer!

Once I had climbed up the ladder to rescue him, and had in my arms, the next question was how was I going to get down again? Another arrow prayer! Rather than panicking, I believe God helped me to keep calm and to think clearly. I was able to instruct my eldest son to go back in the house and upstairs to the bedroom that overlooked the garage. I asked him to open the window so I could push the two year old back into the house!

Then straight in the car, to the hardware store to buy window locks – I was learning fast!

Arrow Prayers in Times of Trouble

There is a security that comes from knowing that God is an ever present help in time of need. Whatever situation or circumstance that we are in we can pray a, quick fired, arrow prayer. This might be spoken, but often may be silent. A moment when we know that we need to connect to God and send a heartfelt and urgent request to Him.

There is a peace of mind that comes from knowing that God is an ever present help in time of need. God knows what we need, before we even ask, but often we need that sense of His presence with us. We need to hear His whisper, His guidance and direction, which calms and soothes our spirit.

Thank God that we have 24/7 access and can reach out to our Heavenly Father at any moment in time. Whether we face life impacting situations, with a long term effect, or a potentially hazardous moment, God is there, and His help is just a prayer away.