Incline Your ear, Lord, and answer me; for I am afflicted and needy. Protect my soul, for I am godly; You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You. Be gracious to me, Lord, for I call upon You all day long. Make the soul of Your servant joyful, for to You, Lord, I lift up my soul. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all who call upon You. Listen, Lord, to my prayer; and give Your attention to the sound of my pleading! On the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me. There is no one like You among the gods, Lord, nor are there any works like Yours. All nations whom You have made will come and worship before You, Lord, and they will glorify Your name. For You are great, and you do wondrous deeds; you alone are God. Teach me Your way, Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I will give thanks to You, Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forever.

What do you do when you need help? Who do you seek? Who do you get advice from? How do you try to solve the problem? All of us respond differently when we need help. Some of us try to push through to get things done ourselves, some of us turn to a mentor, sometimes we do a deep dive on the internet to get the answers we need. These moments are often uncomfortable. They humble us and remind us that we cannot do it all. We are people who need help. Thankfully, we are created beings with access to our Creator. We can go to Him, look to Him, and ask Him for help.

The psalmist in this passage cried out to God and looked to Him as his help. He valued God and wanted to walk in His way. He trusted God to stay true to His character as loving, patient helper. There are many times we struggle in life but fail to turn to God for help. We get frustrated at ourselves or the world for the hard things we face. We try to fix what is broken but we fail. God is the only steady help in times of trouble. He is the constant when everyone else has had enough. He is the patient one who will walk us through hardship. He is the one that will expose what is really going on in our souls. But will we look to Him for help? There are many other so-called quick fixes we can seek, but only God can help us at a heart level in every moment.

• What do you do when you need help? Where are the places you go (mentally or physically)? Who are the people you talk to or listen to?
• When was a time you poured your heart out to God like the psalmist in today’s passage?
• Pray this Psalm and thank God that He is our help.