“Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless” (Psalm 60:11). 

None has ever trusted God so completely that they never had a shadow of doubt. It is in the shadows where we look away from God in search for what appears to be strong but is lacking in content and in character. The challenge came to us and we wondered why we were chosen for adversity. Even then, there arose among some what appeared to be further evidence that God was absent. Many have abandoned God completely with thoughts that He was unreliable, while there are others who learned the lesson and passed the test. Without the test, there would be no need for help. The awareness of our need fostered the acknowledgement that we could not carry out our assignments alone. Without Him we can do nothing. The assistance of man is useless unless God is involved. The help of others only further complicates the issue. It is above our heads, and the heads that stand tall are not tall enough. Their arm of strength cannot reach far enough to bring remedy to the deep wound left within. The need must first be identified if it is ever to be rectified. Does anybody really know where we hurt; where the pain is? Even when we may cover it with a smile or a friendly gesture, the silent cry of the soul is unheard. The prayer that the Psalmist was praying could be stated as, “Lord help me to see the trouble that is before me by making foolish choices when things are not going my way. When I take matters into my own hands and recruit the assistance of others to help me, I become a candidate for failure.” He gives us His help and does not just lend us a hand. Those times when God was not relied upon, there remained a search for something or someone to place our confidence in. Those distracted moments and the results of being distracted must be remembered. The Psalmist, through trial and error; being in trouble and having to be rescued knew how to direct his cry towards his only help. His cry was not just for himself, but included those who may have lacked the experience to direct their prayers as he had learned. “Give us help from trouble.” We all need His help for trouble increases all around. Give us help that we may not be led in the direction of trouble. And if we find ourselves there Lord, help by delivering us from the trouble that we may find ourselves in. The arm of flesh will only give us a false security as if we are being saved while we are falling deeper into the seemingly inescapable trap of delusions.