Psalm 63:7
“Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.”

I have had people tell me, “Please pray for me. I can’t see a way out of the mess I am in. I know that this whole thing is my fault. Right now, I don’t even know whether God will hear my prayers.”

If you think about it, a whole lot of our troubles are of our own making. *But it is when we deserve the punishment and not the blessing that we can receive grace—the undeserved favour and unmerited help of God!

When we stop trying to be deserving of God’s help, we find God more than willing to be our Saviour. But when we continue to try to work things out, we are trying to be our own saviours. God will say, “Save yourself because I can’t help you when you don’t need My help.”

You might be thinking, “But you may ask, don’t you know, God helps those who help themselves?”

Contrary to popular belief, this saying that “God helps those who help themselves” is not in the Bible! God does not help those who help themselves. He helps those who are helpless and dependent on Him. He helps those who look to Him as their only source of help for their problem.

If you say, “My problem is that I am weak.” God says, “That is not a problem. I am your strength.” If you say, “Lord, my face is the problem. I am ugly.” God says, “My face will shine on yours. I am your glory.” If you say, “Lord, I am the problem. I am a nobody.” God says, “I will make you a somebody.”

Unfortunately, many of us are still trying to help ourselves, thinking that for certain matters, we don’t really need God. But God says, “Without Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Do we really believe that? Or do we believe that without Him, we can still do some things to help ourselves?

Only when we realize that we can do nothing, and are nothing in and of ourselves, can we do all things through Christ who strengthens us (see Philippians 4:13). Then, we will see the undeserved, unmerited help and favour of God deliver us from every evil!

Stay Blessed 😊
Ravi

📓 The Book of Psalms 61-67 📓

Psalm 61 – A prayer for restoration to God’s presence. He appealed to God because God had never failed him. This was a prayer when faced with death. He longed for the security of God’s sanctuary and to take refuge in the shelter of his wings. He wanted God to meet him with His love and faithfulness, so that he could sing praise to His name and fulfill his vows.

Psalm 62 – The Psalmist threatened by the assaults of conspirators commits himself to God. God alone was his rock, salvation and fortress. He exhorts God’s people to pour out their hearts in earnest prayer. A warning is given to those who trust in their own devices and get what they want rather than trusting in God. God is strong and loving able to do all that He has promised.

Psalm 63 – A confession of longing for God and for the security his presence offers. God’s word is better than life. His lips would praise him. At night he expectantly awaited the dawning of the morning of deliverance. His enemies seeing his life will forfeit their own. Those who revere and trust God will praise Him.

Psalm 64 – In these Psalms we see David being constantly threatened by a conspiracy. David prayed to God for protection. The words of his enemies were like deadly arrows. They encouraged each other with evil plans. The righteous should rejoice and take refuge in Him. All man kind would fear, proclaim and ponder over the works of God.

Psalm 65 – A hymn of praise for God’s great goodness to His people. He pardoned their sins so that they could fellowship with Him in the temple. The turbulence was put to rest and Israel felt secure. He turned the Promised Land into a fruitful fertile place. God’s mighty acts of redemption were compared with His mighty acts of creation. All creation joins the human chorus to celebrate the goodness of God in creation, blessing and redemption. God crowns the year with His goodness.

Psalm 66 – A song of praise for God’s answer to prayer. God had saved David and the nation from an enemy threat and delivered them. He recollected God’s deliverance of Israel at the Red Sea as a sign of His power over the nations. Sometimes He tested His people to refine them as silver. The trials were severe. They were brought out of a situation of distress into a situation of over flowing well being. God had not rejected his prayer or with held His love from Him.

Psalm 67 – A communal prayer for God’s blessings of His people would catch the attention of the nations and move them to praise. The nations would rejoice in the Lord when they saw the benevolent rule of God. God would bless His people and the Promised Land would yield its abundance.

Mrs Caroline Chellappa 📝
Chennai