HelpI enjoy words. Words like “lambast, superfluous, popinjay, conundrum and exude” are all words that I appreciate because the pronunciation of these words communicate close to what they actually mean. That said, I recognize that many of these words are almost lost in modern-day language. So, I don’t use them much.

You know, language is an interesting phenomenon. Over time, we can have words that become archaic like these ones I’ve just mentioned, but then we can also have words change in meaning over time. Words like “nice or even naughty.” Nice used to mean “foolish” and “naughty” meant you had nothing. But there’s another word that I think has lost a lot of its meaning over time. It’s a word in our Fighter Verse this past week. It’s the word “help.”


Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake! – Psalm 79:9


The psalmist cries out for God to help him. But what does that mean? In our day, help simply means to give some kind of assistance or an added “kick” to get us on our way. But in the Scripture, “help” is associated with complete and utter deliverance.

The reality is that if we’re not sinners, we just need assistance. We tell ourselves that we really aren’t bad off or in need of real saving. But the psalmist says we do need saving – we need atonement. We need deliverance and help from the dire situation that our sins have brought us to against God.

The psalmist asks God not to answer him on the basis of his own glory – because he has none – but to answer on the basis of God’s glory. Get this – the psalmist asks God to bring deliverance (i.e. – help) and make that deliverance pan out for His glory. How is that even possible? Only by the power of an omnipotent God Who cares for and loves His children. Only God can make the forgiveness of traitors something beautiful for us to revel in. And he has done it!

Through Christ, we see the One who took our curse on the cross so that we could experience His blessings forever. Because of Jesus and His sacrifice, we can cry for HELP and God hears us and saves! Now, as His beloved children who are forgiven, we rejoice and give Him all the glory due His name. He saves us and sets us free to worship Him. All praise to His name!

So let’s praise our God this week and declare our need for Him. Cry out for help to Him and He will answer His children. Seek Him and you will find Him. This is the God we worship as we gather here in Holland MI at Ventura Baptist Church. We are a people Pursuing Jesus Together!