“The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion.” – Psalm 20:1-2

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It seems that my personal life is a compilation of moments of “help from the sanctuary.” One of them happened several years ago, when my wife was about to give birth to our youngest son. She had gone through a troubled pregnancy. When it was time for her to deliver our son, a doctor, a nurse, and myself were in the delivery room with her. The baby started to come but then stalled halfway through the birth canal. There was no more movement, and it was too late to perform a Cesarean section! My wife was hovering between life and death. I heard the doctor cry out, “I need help!” and then someone came into the room and with all his strength put his weight on the womb and pushed the baby out. He did not say anything to the doctor or us, he just walked out. I was left to wonder if he were a man or an angel, but it did not matter; I knew he was help from the sanctuary.

In the focus verse, the Psalmist was describing something extraordinary: custom-made help for you and me, designed to fit whatever situation is at hand, and which comes from the sanctuary of the Omnipotent One. Sometimes people may refer to that help as coming from a guardian angel, or attribute it to good luck or simple chance. David wanted us to know that it is divinely-crafted intervention from God. What a comfort to know that when we are in trouble we can call on God to send help from His very sanctuary!

God wants to give us help. He looks for opportunities to be of help to His children. Maybe you have something going on in your life more difficult than usual. Do not despair; there is no situation too hard for Him! Tell God that you need more than ordinary help, you need help from His sanctuary. He will send a special delivery package of custom-made help for the need you have at hand.