The Peace We Long For: Advent in Disorienting Times | Day 5

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 124

“Our help” has been two enduring words in my head as I have reflected on Psalm 124 these past few days. I have my own dissonance and resistance to this idea of asking for “help.” Often, I say to myself when I need help, "I’ll just do it myself."

The word help in Hebrew means Ezer. We first see this word in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” The story that is told in this book is that our humanity is shared, and we are not meant to be alone.

Our very being and place in one another's lives is to help one another.

This means to enter into the vulnerable space means we must learn to ask for what it is we “need.” And then to posture ourselves in a vulnerable place to let others help, aid us in our lives. 

What is it that you need? Who might journey with you to fulfill this need? What first steps might you take to ask? 

Prayer: God, our Helper, teach us the courage to ask and the grace to receive. Where we’ve tried to carry it all alone, remind us that we are made for one another. Open our hearts to name our need and trust those who walk beside us. Be our help, our strength, and our hope. Amen.