…the maker of heaven and earth.
As I started posting this card, James Taylor came on my Pandora Radio singing Carole King’s beautiful “You’ve Got a Friend.”
The lyrics say:
When you’re down and troubled And you need a helping hand And nothing, nothing is going right Close your eyes and think of me And soon I will be there To brighten up even your darkest night You just call out my name And you know wherever I am I’ll come running, oh yeah baby, to see you again Winter, spring, summer or fall All you’ve got to do is call And I’ll be there, ya, ya, ya You’ve got a friend
Carole King has said of writing of the song, “The song wrote itself. It was written by something outside myself, through me.”
I would argue that God wrote the song, gave it to Carole, in order to help people find true friendship through His Son Jesus Christ.
Listening I thought of the fact that of all our friends, the most faithful friend is the Lord Jesus.
Other friends come and go.Colleagues are often simply friends of proximity—leave a job and the friendships are over.Families members let us down and some desert us.
But “my help comes from the Lord.”
He is always with us. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)“Nothing can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:38-39)Even during and after death He is there: “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” (Psalm 23:4)
What kind of help comes from the Lord, our Forever Friend?
Is He compelled to answer every prayer we pray? No, He knows better than to do that!Does He protect us from every potential evil? No, we are protected in eternity, but “in this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33 NIV).
So when it says “my help comes from the Lord,” what does that mean?
It means that through following Christ, He lives in us, as does the Holy Spirit who provides the following:
He encourages (Ac 9:31)
He counsels (Jn 14:16)
He convicts us of sin (Jn 16:8)
He prays for us (Rom 8:27)
He sends people out to do His works (Ac 13:4)
He directs decisions for the church (Ac 15:28)
He chooses missionaries (Ac 13:2)
He convicts us of sin (Jn 16:7-11)
He gives us new life (Jn 3:5-6, Title 3:5)
He makes us realize Gods love (Rom 5:5)
He gives power to witness (Ac 1:8, Ac 6:9-10)
He teaches us what to say (Luke 12:12)
He reveals God’s secrets to us (1 Co 2:10-16)
He brings Christ’s presence to us (Jn 14:16-18)
He teaches us about Christ (Jn 14:26, Jn 15:26)
He enables us to find the truth (1Jn 4:1-6)
He controls us (Rom 8:9)
He gives us joy and peace (Rom 14:17)
He draws us into fellowship (2 Co 13:14, Php 2:1)
He enables us to live the Christian life (Rom 8:5-9)
He works His fruit in us (Gal 5:16-25)
He sanctifies us (Rom 15:16, 2Th2:13)
He gives us gifts (1Co 12:4-11)
He gives us his sword to fight Satan (Eph 6:17)
He prays for us in times of crisis (Rom 8:24)
He will raise us from the dead (Rom 8:11)
Now that’s real friendship! Indeed, “my help comes from the Lord.”
For more help connecting with God through prayer, check out these resources I’ve prepared:
For help with answering questions about why God allows suffering and pain (theodicy) see these resources I have prepared:
To receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord and have a real forever friend click HERE.
To develop your relationship with God, get my free eBook “10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth” click HERE.