My Help

I will lift my eyes to the hills--

from whence comes my help?

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1

Where do you go when you need help? Often times we go to our friends, or our family. If we need financial help, we go to a banker; legal help, we go to a lawyer; medical help, we go to a doctor. Whatever our need, there is usually a professional who can help us with our problem. But where should we really turn when we need help? The Psalmist knew when he said, "My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."

That's right! The only One Who can truly help us is the One who made it all, and Who holds it all in the palm of His hand. His fingers span the expanse of all creation with room to spare, and He keeps it all going. Being in personal relationship with Him, I am confident that if He can make the universe and keep it going, He can certainly do something about my little problems.

The Psalmist wrote:

• He will not allow your foot to be moved
• He who keeps you will not slumber
• He is your shade, and nothing shall strike you
• He shall preserve you from all evil

We've got a God who never sleeps, who is always watching, who protects and defends and shields and keeps. I am so thankful for that last definition...He is my keeper! He will look after me, and He will look out for me. When I come in, when I got out, forever and forever, He is there for me. My help comes from the Lord!

When Angels Appear

But when she saw him,

she was troubled at his saying,

and considered what manner of greeting this was.

Luke 1:29

To the best of my knowledge, I've never seen an angel. I think it's something I'd remember, if I had, and so it is with a high level of certainty that I say I've never seen one. I asked my Dad one time if he had ever seen an angel, and he said no. I think I even inquired of our pastor, and he had never seen one either. I've certainly felt their presence, and been sure of their action from time to time. They are on assignment from God to help us, you know. But I've never seen one, so I don't know what I'd do if I ever did.

I can tell you this much. I've seen things in the supernatural. I saw a demonic apparition once; actually, I saw the same demon twice. The first time I was half-asleep and simply remembered the sighting. The second time I was wide awake and it was a truly terrifying experience. If I didn't have Jesus, I don't know what I would have done. But once I was over my shock and started rebuking that demon, I never had that happen again.

So I'm pretty certain if I'd seen an angel, I would remember it.

Some people seem kind of obsessed with angelic appearances these days. There are some Christians who claim they are always seeing them. I've had people in my congregations claim they could see the angels walking with me as I preached. Some have reported seeing angels singing with the choir in churches I have pastored. I've not ever seen them, but I think I may have heard the sound of praise coming from the heavens from time to time. When I've been in places where the worship was reaching a high and anointed level, I've heard the voices of thousands, even when only a few were there singing. I've heard trumpets from heaven playing along with the instruments. I believe I've even heard the shouts of the heavenly hosts at times. But I've still never seen one.

And I would think, from reading my Bible, that angelic appearances aren't supposed to be either random or without purpose. Every time a heavenly messenger shows up in the Bible, it's with either a mission or a message or both. Take the appearance of Gabriel to the virgin Mary. He was on a mission, and he had a message for her. And when he showed up, her response was not common. This wasn't an everyday happening for her, and she was troubled. She wondered over the greeting. But it's definitely to her credit that she didn't jump up and run from his presence. She waited for whatever else he had to say