But God is my helper; The Lord keeps me alive! Psalm 54:4

Helplessness.  It’s one of the worst feelings a human can experience.

When he was just two years old, Javier had been illegally brought from the country of his birth to another country, by his parents. His father became abusive and abandoned Javier and his mother, but Javier had done so well in school that he won a college scholarship.  And that’s when the truth that had been kept from him came out:  Javier was undocumented, and his scholarship was withdrawn.  Overwhelming anger and feelings of helplessness sent him into deep depression.

God’s expectation is that we will need help in this life, and lots of it. Search the scriptures and you’ll be encouraged to find how many times God offers us His help and assures us of His desire to rescue. “There is no one like the God of Israel,” the Bible says, “He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor” (Deuteronomy 34:26). “God is our refuge and strength,” Psalm 46 echoes, “Always ready to help in times of trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

If you’re feeling the overwhelming despair of helplessness right now, you can pray like King Asa in the Old Testament who cried out, “O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone” (2 Chronicles 14:11). Simply put, you can pray: “I can’t, God. But you can!”

Javier prayed and a follower of Jesus came alongside and paid for an immigration attorney to help him gain legal status. Javier graduated college with honors and even… got a job.

God is our helper.