Where does my help come from?

Where does my help come from?

Commentary by Walter Hesford | FāVS News

Commentary by Walter Hesford | FāVS News

I recently received my 2025 Thrivent Calendar. “December” featured a beautiful photo of early snow at Camp Perkins Lutheran Outdoor Ministries circled by the Sawtooth Mountains. It also included this passage from Scripture: “I lift up my eyes unto the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2 NIV).

This brought back memories of the Cathedral of the Pines in southern New Hampshire I visited as a kid. It too looked out upon a circle of mountains, and, on a plaque on the pulpit, quoted Psalm 121:1-2, but in the King James Version: “I lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.”

Close readers will note that the period that ends the first sentence in the KJV has been replaced by a question mark in the NIV (this is also the case in the NRSV). There was no punctuation mark in the original Hebrew. The recent change in English translations from period to question mark was probably made to clarify that help does not come from hills or mountains — places after all of pagan sites of worship — but from the Lord who created them.

Yet the placement of places of worship in beautiful settings and our pleasure in photos of these settings suggest that though we may acknowledge the Lord as the ultimate source of our help, we are also emotionally helped, uplifted, by awesome natural phenomena.

Orion’s company

This gives permission to my strange attachment to Orion this time of year as he rises from his bed in the dark southeast sky during the wee small hours of the morning and continues his journey west across my southern vista, getting more upright and awesome until dawn approaches, when he begins to recline again and fade away.

Orion has kept me company through many long nights. I’ve never been a good sleeper, and recent surgery has made me an even worse one. So I appreciate this constellation for being with me, for being an inspiration.

I have never been interested in astrology, never looked in the papers for information about what advice the alignment of celestial objects would give me for any given day. And I understand why Christians like Martin Luther have denounced looking to the stars rather than to God for guidance. Yet I see nothing wrong with appreciating the beautiful patterns that the created, creative world offers us, and which our minds have discerned in this world since time immemorial.

Living as a covenant community

I also align myself with those who, like the psalmist, assert that help comes from the Lord. But the Lord doesn’t act in a vacuum. As biblical prophets from Amos to Jesus have affirmed, we need to be the ones who carry out God’s commandments to care for one another, to live as a covenant community.

And James, in his New Testament letter, critiques Christians who may have faith in God, but do nothing to help those in need: “If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm, and eat your fill,’ yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what good is that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:15-17 NRSV).

In my church’s mission statement, we aspire to be the hands of God in the world. We have, of course, fallen far short of this mission, but we are fortunate to have an endowment that enables us to fund global, national, regional and local organizations doing good work.

On a personal level, I have to admit that in all those nights in which I have communed with Orion, never once had he reached down to, say, make me a comforting cup of tea, or tuck me back into bed. During my road to recovery, help has come from family members and members of my church community. So, I should not fail to lift up my eyes and heart and give praise to them.

The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.