Mensa Otabil - My Help Comes From the Lord (09/28/2025)
This week we are looking at the subject of the help that God gives to us when He comes to our aid and helps us in our walk with Him. We’re going to start by looking at a popular psalm, Psalm 121, verses 1 and 2, which says, «I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help. My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.»
Psalm 121 is one of the Psalms of Ascents. There are 15 Psalms beginning from Psalm 120 to Psalm 134 that are known as the Psalms or Songs of Ascents. There is debate as to what these Songs of Ascents were, but the general view is that they were the psalms or songs that the people of Israel sang as they ascended to Jerusalem. As they went from their tribes and dwelling places to the temple or the dwelling place of the tabernacle to worship, they would be singing these songs.
The psalmist starts by making a statement. He says, «I will lift up my eyes to the hills.» Why does he say that? He says that because Jerusalem is on Mount Zion; it’s on a hill. The whole of Judea is a hilly country, so as you go up to Jerusalem, you encounter hills. He says, «I lift up my eyes to the hills.» Then he asks a question: «Where does my help come from?» Many times we look up to a hill; a hill is an elevated place, a high place. Many times when we look at things that are high, we think our help comes from that high place.
But then the psalmist answers the question: «Where does my help come from? Does it come from the hill? No! My help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth.» What the psalmist is saying is that, yes, I look to the hill, but my help comes from the maker of the hills. My help comes from the one who created the hills, Jehovah God Almighty. That’s a very important instruction for us. When we’re looking for help, we may be looking at a hill, and for some people, the hill may be the church, maybe a pastor, maybe their parents, a spouse, a government, or a business. That’s the hill you’re looking up to for help.
But the truth is, your help doesn’t come from the hills; your help comes from the maker of the hills. It is God who is the source of our help. So today, as you encounter your life and its challenges, remember there will be hills that can seem high, exalted, and promise answers to your questions. But your help does not come from the hill; your help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth, including the hills you’re looking up to.
So if there is a man who is your healer, a woman who is your help, a church that is your hill, or a pastor who is your help, wherever hill you’re looking up to today, our help comes from the one who made the heavens and the earth. May the Lord help you; may He be your helper, your strengthener, and may He give you victory this week. I trust that you’re going to have a great week, and your help from the Lord will not fail you. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.