Regarding the help of God, which we always experience, we speak in the thanksgiving prayer these words: 'Let us give thanks to the beneficent and merciful God, ...for He has protected and helped us...'. God does not leave you alone and will help you, or He will send someone to assist you, for He knows your weaknesses, your problems, and needs. He follows your struggles against evil, and watches your interactions with your fellow humans, sensing the stirrings within you. He knows your enemies, the difficult situations you face, and hears your prayers and supplications.
Take comfort, for God knows what happens to you...
As a merciful God and Father who loves His children, He will provide you with the solution along your journey. This is also because He is the good Shepherd who cares for His flock. There are people who fall into trouble and do not turn to God, but instead believe in their own strength or in the power of their fellow humans, and ask them for help.
Human help is not always flawless...
In your distress, you may receive support from your fellow humans, out of compassion, to free you from all your difficulties, regardless of what this help looks like!
There are many examples of this, committed through lies, tricks, deceit, bribery, forgery, flattery. Problems are solved this way, but you will not feel good because you have not chosen the right path!
But God sends you the only true help from His sanctuary.
The ways of God are pure and true, and differ from those of humans, which burden the conscience. People can also give advice that leads to certain results, but do not correspond to humanity.
I will give you examples from the Bible:
King Ahab received advice from his wife Jezebel for his problem, and it plunged him into the abyss...
Ahab longed to own the vineyard of Naboth from Jezreel. But he replied, 'I will not give you my vineyard, for I want to leave it to the heirs of my fathers'. Ahab was bitterly disappointed and did not want to eat anymore.
When his wife saw him lying there sullen, she craftily suggested, 'We accuse him of blasphemy, and set two worthless men as witnesses against him. This way, he will be condemned to death, and we can take possession of his land'. Ahab agreed with her advice and achieved the desired goal.
Then the word of the Lord came to Ahab: 'You have become an heir through murder. At the place where the dogs licked Naboth's blood, dogs will also lick your blood' [1Kgs 21:19]. Jezebel's advice, which she thought would be useful to her husband, led him to ruin, for the source of this help was merely human thought and not in accordance with God.
Similarly, the advice of Balaam to Balak, as well as Ahithophel, when he advised Absalom to attack David.
When you fall into difficulties, it is a good opportunity for Satan to mislead you with false suggestions...
The Prophet David calls in the Psalm, that the solution to your problems may come through asking God, for the true power comes from His sanctuary. Thereby, you will experience the support through the hand of God and recognize the effect of His offered hand. You will realize that you could never have found this way to solve your problem yourself, as God's ways are inscrutable. And in this realization, you think of the Psalm verse:
'He will send you help from the sanctuary and support you from Zion'
Zion is the city of David, the great
king, and symbolizes the realm and blessing of God. Therefore, the expression 'help from Zion' means God sends you pure, true, and blessed help from His kingdom to solve your difficulties.
Let me tell you a true story that happened 15 years ago:
A bishop at that time had no residence and lived in a small separate two-room apartment attached to the church.
Of course, it was necessary for his diocese to build a residence. He made great efforts, raised the necessary money, and bought a house with the intention of demolishing it and rebuilding it according to the criteria of a bishop's residence. However, the house was still occupied, and it was not easy to send the residents away. Also, the necessary money to demolish the house and rebuild it for the intended purpose was not available. Now the question was, 'How to get the permission to demolish this house, even though it was not so old or dilapidated? And how to get a building permit for it?'
The bishop had no choice but to entrust this matter to God, as he himself was not in control of the situation!
The situation was as follows: The house was on a road that ran along the railway tracks, and the canton decided to widen the road as it was the entrance to the city. This led to a part of the house, which the bishop had bought, having to be demolished, and consequently, its residents had to leave.
This solved the problems of sending the residents away and demolishing the house! The canton's decision, which wanted to quickly tackle the project and thereby took up part of the land of the new bishop's seat, brought the bishop a certain sum of money as compensation. The owners of the neighboring houses were granted permission for their necessary alterations and new buildings, as well as the building material with financial advances. This also solved the money problem!
All difficulties were thus overcome, and the residence could be built. In this initially insurmountable situation, it turned out over time that the effect of God's hand was at play, in His way, as the bishop had never anticipated. A few months later, the bishop was able to take over his new seat. Through such experiences, the saying of the Psalm is proven true for the believing person: 'He will send you help from the sanctuary and support you from Zion'. When God's hand acts, leading everything to the good, the blessing comes, and the problem is solved...
In this, you remember the words of the Apostle Paul to the Romans: 'We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose' [Rom 8:28]. Another example we experience in the story of Samson, when he tore apart a strong lion and took honey out of the carcass: '... out of the strong came forth sweetness'.
