Fall Creek Christian Church

"O Lord, I am willing to call to you. Please hurry! Listen when I cry to you for help! Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering."  Psalm 141:1-2   I didn't wake up that morning saying to myself, "I think I'll wander off the hiking path alone and end up stuck and stranded on a rock ledge with nothing but boulders below", but that's exactly what I did. There were no good options available to me. Regardless of whether or not I could explain how I got there, the fact of the matter was I was there. So, I did what every other self-respecting young man would do, I yelled for help! Help did come. Not in the form of another person, but in the form of a strategically located sapling about an inch in diameter. It was just close enough and just strong enough to enable my escape. Apparently, I'm not the only one who has ever yelled for help. King David did, all the time. In our verses for the day, he was in trouble....

"But you have raised a banner for those who honor you-- a rallying point in the face of attack.  Use your strong right arm to save us, and and rescue our beloved people. ... Oh please help us against our enemies, for all human help is useless.  With God's help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes."  Psalm 60:4-5, 11-12 I've had the privilege of personally sitting down and listening to some of our WWII heroes as they recount some of their harrowing experiences in the war.  Grenades. Foxholes. Snipers. Chaos. Confusion.  Scenes of life and death struggle.  One marine told me of walking up the mountain on Iwo Jima.  He watched those in front of him carrying a large flag.  As he made his way out of the jungle into the next clearing ... There it was, waving in the wind.  A rallying point, a banner of hope and victory. King David, who wrote this Psalm, knew the horrors of war.  He had looked for the rallying point ba...

"I look up to the mountains--does my help come from there?  My help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth!  He will not let you stumble and fall; the one who watches over you will not sleep."  Psalm 121:1-3 "Help!", I cried.  "Send help now!"  Thankfully 911 operators are trained to stay calm, because I sure wasn't.  Before I knew it, she had me in the middle of the crash site, that I had just witnessed, reporting on the condition of the people that were involved in the accident.  She forwarded all that information to the police and fire department and thankfully they arrived within minutes.  I was reminded in no uncertain terms that help is a big deal. The writer of this Psalm thought so too.  He was looking high and low for help.  Maybe he'd fallen on some tough times, been wronged by a friend, or was experiencing the consequences of some bad decisions.  I don't know.  We just know that help was needed. ...

“I lift my eyes up to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber; ..." Psalm 121:1-3 It was no use. The path that I thought I wanted to be on had ended. I was on a ledge twenty feet above the boulder covered creek bank below. I could not jump out far enough to reach the water. In front of me was a sheer rock face. There was no way to retrace my steps and no one there to hear my cries for help. On top of all that, no one knew where I was. Stuck and desperate, I began to pray. It's amazing how desperation improves one's prayer life. It was at that time that a thought entered my mind, "Look up." I slowly adjusted my position and looked up the side of the rocky hill. There, growing out of collections of dirt on the rocks, were some small trees, hand grip sized. I jumped for all I was worth, grabbed the little tree and...