God Is Our Helper
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. – Psalm 9:9
This verse is one example among hundreds teaching us that God cares about our troubles and helps us in our time of need. This is an essential part of the Christian understanding of who God is. The Bible teaches that God is compassionate and that He rules over all things with justice. We take comfort in knowing that He cares about our suffering, promises to help us, and will punish those who have a hand in causing it.
Or, Not?
Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? – Psalm 10:1
So, in Psalm 9 the psalmist says God is a stronghold in times of trouble. A stronghold is a fortress, something we can take refuge in for protection. But in Psalm 10 the psalmist complains that God is hiding himself in times of trouble. Well, will God help me or not? Is He gonna be there for me, or not? Does he give a rip, or not? Can I depend on Him, or not? – A simple “yes” or “no” would be nice, thank you.
It’s Complicated
Life isn’t simple and a simple answer just won’t do. Yes, God is compassionate toward us. Yes, God is just, and will eventually carry out final justice – “eventually” as in, at the end of this age – a little longer than I’d prefer to wait. But experience proves that God doesn’t always help us when, how and to the extent we feel we need. Okay, let’s get real – God rarely helps us that way.
So, what’s going on?
I think the psalmist is living through the same averageness of life that we do. On one occasion he is full of faith, praising God for His protection. On another (maybe trouble seems more pressing now) he is waiting for help to come and wonders aloud, “God, where ARE you?” You know by experience that sometimes life works out way better than you could have expected, even sometimes, way better than you deserve (look deep inside now). We have no problem giving God credit for these rare blessings. But most of the time life just kind of works out. Sometimes it’s okay, sometimes not, sometimes awful, sometimes frustrating, or scary, or worse. Most of the time, it’s hard to see God’s hand.
So, What’s the Point?
Troubles force me to choose whether trusting God for the “eventually” will be the basic motivation of my life.
Trusting God in times of trouble is a choice: Will I trust that God sees, knows, cares and will eventually act even when He leaves me waiting… and waiting… and waiting? Troubles must come. I am born to them. If they don’t come, how else will I learn:
- Wisdom to avoid trouble when I can?
- Courage to face trouble when I can’t?
- Integrity when a “white lie” could make the situation go away?
- Patience to endure trouble even when I don’t understand its purpose?
- Compassion to help another who is waiting for help?
Most importantly, without troubles how will I ever learn that only God is great? Life is average so that I’ll learn to pursue Him, trust Him, love Him. Love this life too much and I’ll eventually lose it and Him. But, love God more than my average life and I’ll get Him along with an eternal, not average life thrown in.
Until then, the psalmist and I must choose.
God help me to trust that You are great, even when life isn’t.
Average Us 
I don’t generally comment of spiritual issues and, trust me, I’m the least qualified person to address this that you know but I’ll tell you what I think.
There is no real contradiction between the two verses. The first simply states what we take to be a fact about God’s love for us. The second is a human reaction when something bad happens and the writer can’t understand why God didn’t stop it. Well, God is not like a crossing guard who stops trouble before it runs into us. When I was a child my father could not prevent me from getting hurt either. When my hand got slammed in the car door he wasn’t there to stop it. Hey, stuff happens… but when I was hurt and suffering my parents were there to comfort me, hold me and let me know that I was loved and I would be alright… they were my strength, my “stronghold in times of trouble.”. As a child I had faith in their unconditional love. To me it’s the same deal. It comes down to faith that you are loved and cared about and when everything has gone wrong you are not deserted and alone.
I don’t think you would call me a religious person but I know what I think and how I feel and I guess I would be better defined as a spiritual person. I get the feeling that when I talk to God he still listens.
Thanks Dale. I would add that God always can stop the trouble, which adds to question of why He so often doesn’t. Ultimately, I think this question is well-answered in Scripture, but I didn’t want to deal with that here. Thanks again. Nice to hear from you. Pass the post on if you like.
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