I was not ready to attend another funeral. Mom and Dad had died only five months earlier. But my good friend’s brother died tragically. She had helped me so much through my grief, and I needed to go. With a few other friends, I flew to Oklahoma. When we got to the church, they could tell I needed a few moments alone. I sat in the car with my cell phone in one hand and a small Bible in the other.
With tears streaming, I cried out, saying, “Lord, now is the time I would call Mom and Dad and say, ‘Please pray for me right now. I am having a difficult time.’ But I can’t do that! I need you to talk to me, to be REAL to me. I am going to open up my Bible and ask you to please speak to me!”
I opened up my Bible to Psalm 121:1–2, “I lift up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
I wondered why he didn’t reveal something more “profound”, but I thanked him for being my helper, trusting that passage was what he wanted me to read. I regained my composure, went inside, and greeted the family. As I waited in the pew, I wondered what the pastor would say, praying for God to give him the right words.
“You know, I didn’t know what I would say today,” the pastor confessed as he addressed the congregation. “What do you say to the family when a tragedy like this happens to a loved one? I asked the Lord and He showed me. I want to read to you a passage from Psalm 121:1–2.”
I sat back with such awe as he read that SAME passage. It was as if the Lord reached down from Heaven, put his loving arms around me and said, “I am your Helper! Look to me and I will take care of you! I will never leave you!” I thanked him for being so REAL to me! To maintain my composure, I focused on the cross hanging behind the pastor. On reflection, I realized the only way my family and I would get through this difficult time was to focus on the cross and let him be our Helper.
Lord, please help me to lift my eyes to YOU and to realize that my help indeed comes from you, the maker of heaven and earth!
“I lift up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1–2)