This Psalm will forever be associated in my mind with my Grandma Bessie. It was always one  of her favorites – so much so that it became an anthem for her. She was the headmistress of a girl’s Bible school in Yokohama, Japan. When she married my Grandfather a choir of the school girls sang this at their wedding. 

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?

My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

The thing that I want to draw out about this psalm is almost comic in it’s simplicity. The psalmist is looking for help -and he knows where to find it. But the thing that I want to point out is the description of God – “The One who heaven and earth has made.”

It is so easy for us to forget that our God is the Creator God. We have slipped into treating Him with certain sorts of phrases – slipped into treating God like He is an establishment. We say this because we just do. We toss about “if it’s your wills”, and “we know that you know..”, and all kinds of calloused, sometimes unbelieving phrases. We start to categorize our “God thoughts” off in a different part of our lives. Something that we pull out from time to time, when we need encouragement, or when we are worried about something. Something that we only deal with once a week at church.

But that simple phrase – the one who made heaven and earth – is a wonderful reminder. As we lift things up to God in prayer, do we  have an attitude of “I’ve been around the block, and I know how this kind of thing goes….” – are we hardened, and tired? Are we forgetting that He did, in fact, make us? He made our children, He made our difficult families, He made it with His words. Why do we ever doubt Him? Why do we think that the God who made tide pools and all that is in them cannot handle an alcoholic? Why do we think that the one who threw the milky way into heaven isn’t really sure what to do with us and our troubles?

And when we are worrying – are we remembering this? Are we remembering that our creator holds us in His hand? That He never sleeps? That there are no small things that can slip by without him noticing? He made them all. We are His creation – sustained by His voice.

When we need help we go to our God. He tells us to cast all of our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7). But how often do we come before Him with a ho-hum, I doubt you can because you probably won’t, because you don’t normally kind of attitude?

God did not actively create this world and then lay it down because it got too hot for Him. This world – all of it – is His. He holds us in His hand.

So as we come before Him with our little requests or concerns – when we ask Him to help us sort out the problems we face, remember that not only has God promised His care over you, but remember who it is who has done this for us.

It is the one who MADE the heavens and earth.

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