Surely if there has ever been a time in our lives that we must cry out to the Lord for help mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally it is now. We have witnessed the devastation from Helene that swept across the United States through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and North and South Caroline while also impacting the surrounding states. Reports of the damage are still coming out as we see the impact upon thousands with immediate and long-term damage. Many questions arise as the parallels between the 1958 hurricane Helene and the hurricane named Helene we just experienced—both category 4 with similar statistics and paths; both on September 26 occurring 66 years apart! The number 66 rings familiar with 6 being the number of man but also connected to the numbers assigned to the Antichrist! Again, we are seeing the battle between God and the unseen realm of Satan and his minions replaying! As we continue to reiterate, God is real, God has a plan, God is in control, God loves us, and GOD WINS! No matter what we may face we must stand on these truths and trust in God’s presence and protection. The theme of Psalm 121 is God’s care of His people. Verse 1 and 2 points us to the Source of our help: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” In times like these we must acknowledge and recognize God’s sovereignty and omnipotence—all of His Divine attributes and trust in His ability to provide help and guidance to all who put their faith in Jesus Christ according to Romans 8: 37-39. God the Father and the Son are seated on the heavenly throne and from this sacred dwelling place comes everlasting security: “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 125:2)
Our help comes from the Lord through His vigilant, never wearying, sleepless protection: “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.”(vv. 3-4) In every danger “the LORD Himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade.” (vv. 5-6) Whether we face threats to the body or soul, in every situation of life, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” (Ps. 46:1) Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, God has us covered! The child of God can confidently say, “My help comes from the Lord,” because God keeps and protects His children at all times and in dangers: “The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.” (vv. 7-8) We can rest in Him because He is able to keep us!
In order for our faith to be strengthened and deepened, I believe that we should be reminded of the all-sufficiency of our Eternal Father:
God is Sovereign: God is supreme over all and accountable to no one. He has always existed and there is no higher power in the universe. “Know therefore…the LORD He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath; there is none else.” (Deut. 4: 39) The Scripture states that “My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure.” (Isa. 46: 10) God’s pleasure resulted in a plan for humanity that allowed freedom of choice. (John 3: 16, Ps. 24 for 2024) God is Righteous: God is absolute righteousness and holiness. “There is none holy as the LORD.” (1 Sam. 2: 2, Ps. 22:3, 47: 8, 111:9, John 17:11, Rev. 3, 7; 6:10) God’s righteousness is independent and incomparable. God has made provision for mankind to experience His righteousness through the Cross: “For He (the Father) hath made His (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5: 21) We do not measure up to His perfect righteousness, yet we are “Justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 3: 24) It is God’s grace gift to those who believe and trust Jesus as Savior. God is Justice: God’s holiness includes His justice as well as His righteousness. As a part of His justice, God is fair; it is impossible for God to be unfair. God’s judgments are perfect. Justice administers the penalty which righteousness demands. Were it not for the ministry of Jesus Christ on Cross, God would have to compromise His justice in order to save us. But through His death on the Cross (1 Peter 2: 24) Jesus Christ transferred the guilt of the sinner upon Himself and thus satisfied the justice of the Father. God is now free to pardon and justify the sinner who accepts His saving grace. (Rom. 3: 21-28; 4:5) God is equally free to condemn to the Lake of Fire, those who reject Christ as Savior. (Jn. 3: 18) So the work of Christ on the Cross not only released the justice of the Father for total expression in eternity, but also made it possible for the Father’s justice to remain intact in the plan of God. God is Love: Since God is eternal and unchanging, His love is unchanging and enduring, and in the same quantity which He possessed from eternity. The basis of grace is love. God’s love cannot come to man until righteousness and justice have been satisfied. When the Father judged Christ on the Cross for our sins, the barrier of justice was removed. Now love can come to man. To the person who believes in Christ, both love and eternal life come by grace. Those who accept the Grace of God in salvation cannot be separated from the love of God. (Rom. 8: 38-39) God’s love is designed so that we as believers, can learn to appreciate it and respond to it. We must come to the place where “we love Him because He first loves us” (1 Jn. 4:19). That love must be divorced from all human ability, human props, strings and emotion. God expressed His love in that “He spared not His own son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with him also freely give us all things?” (Rom 8: 32) Today, God is holding back His judgment to give unbelievers the opportunity to believe in His Son. (2 Peter 3:9) God is Eternal Life: There never was a time when God did not exist. God has neither beginning nor end, He existed in eternity past, and He will exist forever. (Ps. 90:2) God is Omniscience: God is all-knowing. God knows all and sees all. God’s knowledge is not related to or limited by time. Our knowledge is based upon time. We are slaves to time and we are limited by time; God’s knowledge has no limits. We continue to learn as long as we live on this earth, but God has never had to learn anything. He has always known everything and darkness hides nothing from God. (Ps. 139: 12) He knows the end from the beginning. (Isa. 46:10) Because He is omniscient, He knows what is best for those who trust in Him. We may not understand the adversities and sufferings which come into our lives, yet when we view them in retrospect, it becomes apparent that God knew all along what He was doing. (Jn. 13: 7) Neither humans nor Satan and his minions can ever begin to approach the infinite wisdom and understanding of God. Yet it is God’s intention that every believer come to understand His Word as the Holy Spirit illuminates it and builds our faith. Unlike God, Satan is not all-knowing and limited by time! God is Omnipresence: God is ever-present. “Can any hide himself in secret places that I cannot see him?” (Jer. 23:24) God is not limited by time or space. He is both in heaven and the earth simultaneously. (Deut. 4: 39) It should be a sobering thought for the unbeliever that he cannot escape the presence of God; but comforting for believers to know that He will never leave them nor forsake them. (Heb. 13:5) It is also encouraging to believers that Satan and his minions are limited to one place at a time! God is Omnipotent: God is all-powerful, limitless in ability. God has a power, which like His love, is totally devoid of human props. God is also limitless in His authority. By His power, He rules and up-holds all things. (I Chron. 29:11; Rom 13:1, Heb 1:3) The only limit to God’s power is the freewill of angels and mankind. God’s power and authority are manifested in many ways. The creation of the universe and the restoration of the earth are among the greatest demonstrations of His power. Others include His works in regard to Israel, such as the dividing of the Red Sea and the conquering of their enemies. (Joshua and Judges) God is mighy to save and to those who believe in Christ, He makes known “what is the exceeding greatness of His power according to the working of His almighty power.” (Eph. 1: 19) “He is mighty to keep the believer.” (1 Peter 1:3) Nothing and no one, not even Satan himself, can remove us from this earth with the exception of our own will, until it is the Lord’s time for us to go home. (Job 5: 20-27) The Lord God omnipotent says to all believers, “Behold I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for Me?” (Jer. 32: 27) When we learn to apply this, we will respond with Job, “I know that thou canst do everything” (Job 42:2) and we will relax in the knowledge that “with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1: 37) God is Unchanging: God is perfect and absolute stability, the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, “faintest not, neither is weary.” (Isa. 40:20) He cannot change. (Ps. 102: 26, Mal. 3:6, Heb. 1: 12) Because God is unchanging, His love is unchangeable. Because of His eternal life, His love is undying and enduring. God’s word is unchangeable. (Ps. 119: 89; 148:6; Isa. 40:8, I Peter 1: 25); and His works are unchanging. (Eccl. 3: 14) God gives us two unchanging things: the person of Jesus Christ and His Word. (Heb. 6: 18) Jesus Christ is unchanging “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8) and the Bible is “the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2: 16) First, God is faithful in keeping His promises and “God is not a man that He should lie.” (Num. 23:19) Second, God is faithful to forgive. (I Jn. 1:9) He forgives because Christ has already paid the penalty for our sins. Third, He is faithful in keeping us safe. (II Tim. 2: 12-13) Even though we might say after we are saved “I no longer believe in Christ,” God is still faithful to us. There is nothing we can say or do to lose our salvation once we have truly believed and surrendered to Jesus Christ. Since God did the saving, He does the keeping! Fourth, God is faithful to deliver us from in pressure or testing. (I Cor. 1013; I Peter 4: 10). Fifth, He is faithful in stabilizing and protecting the believer. (II Thes. 3: 3) God is our anchor in these unstable times. Sixth, He is faithful in the administration of His plan. (I Cor. 1:9) Seventh, He is faithful in His provision. (I Thess. 5: 24) God is Truth: God is absolute truth, which is an expression of His righteousness. “A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.” (Deut. 32: 4) His truth is manifested in His ways, His works, and in His Word. (Eph. 1: 13) The sum total of Divine Truth to the human race is bound up in the Canon of Scripture. Before the Bible was completed, God’s truth was manifested in various ways: He spoke truth, He sent angels to teach, He used prophets, priests and other communicators. God is still speaking to those who have ears to hear! All of these ten attributes of Divine Essence are in each person of the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God exists in three separate and distinct personalities. Each person is self-conscious and separate personality, but each person never acts independently or in opposition to the other. A complete understanding of the Trinity is not necessary for entering the plan of God. God has the plan and has laid it out in His Word without any help from man! God has it! Psalm 33: 10-11 gives us this assurance: “The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes. But the LORD’S plans stand firm forever; His intentions can never be shaken.” If we look closely, we can see events moving toward the prophetic promises of Scripture. All of our days, God is our Helper and the God who sustains our lives!