THE LORD, OUR HELPER

            "So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13:6). In the last devotional, I used thoughts from the previous verse considering the Lord's promise, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." In this verse, based on that promise, we can say with boldness, "The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." We can say this with boldness because we have full confidence in the Lord that He will fulfill His promise to us. We will never be alone and never be forsaken! The word 'helper' could be speaking of an intern or a junior partner who is in training, but that is not the case in this verse. The verse gives assurance that the One Who is always with us is also available to help us in the hour of our need.

            The Greek word translated as 'helper' in this verse is only used this one time in Scripture. It is a combination of two words meaning 'to cry out' and 'to run to'. This gives me the thought that when we cry out to Him, He runs to us. He doesn't have to run very far, however, since He resides within us. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would always be with us since He indwells each believer. "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (1 John 4:17). As our Helper, He is able to control every situation we face and nothing comes into our lives without His permission, and He enables us to do any work He has given us to do.

          Therefore, The Lord being our Helper should keep us from being afraid. Many Christians suffer from various fears. Some are afraid of the dark. Some have fear when going to a doctor to get the final diagnosis, and others fear death. Unfortunately, some are afraid to witness for the Lord, or to take a stand for Him in their daily lives, because they fear what others may think of them. Our verse covers most of these fears when it states, "I will not fear what man shall do unto me." The worse thing any man can do to me is to kill me and then I would just get to Heaven sooner. Jesus said we should fear God rather than man. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).

            The Lord being with us should control everything in our lives and that includes the very thoughts of our minds. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). The wise man Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes revealing the life he had lived 'under the sun'. After revealing the failure of many things he had tried in his own life that had failed to help him, the Holy Spirit gave this great advice in the next to last verse: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man" (12:13). That is sage advice for each of us! Your whole duty in life is to love God and fear Him as you keep His commandments. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love" (1 John 4:18).

          We are humans and must live with other humans on this earth and many of them can be considered as your enemies who are engaged in doing everything they can to hurt and oppose you. However, we are to focus our attention on the Lord and His people who are dedicated to helping us. Take your eyes off your enemies and place them on the Lord! "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). Therefore, you can tell the Lord, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee" (Psalm 56:3). You will find when faith comes in the door fear will go out the window!