Words of Worship: Help

help (verb) - to give assistance or support to someone; to provide someone with something that is useful or necessary in achieving an end

Synonyms: abetment, backing, lift, support

Antonyms: constraint, frustration, hindrance, inhibition

Everyone, no matter how physically, mentally, or emotionally strong, will need help sometime in their life. Sometimes we're able to receive help (if we ask for it) from our friends, family, and colleagues. Other times, our earthly partners just won't be equipped to give us the help we need. No matter the situation, we can and should always reach up and out to our Heavenly Father, the ultimate source of help. He longs for us to talk to Him, to pray to Him for any trial we may face, and He is so glad to reach down with His perfect help and comfort. It may not always look like the help our human minds and hearts think we need, but He knows what we need better than anyone else ever has, and will never cause us harm. This is a very difficult concept for non-believers to wrap their minds around, and can be equally difficult for believers as well, but as God's children we have hope that God will work all things for good.

This week's post includes seven songs that discuss the help of the Lord along with Scripture references that inspired them and that I was led to with each entry. All Scripture passages are from the New Living Translation of the Holy Bible.

HELP! by Brandon Lake (written by B. Lake, J. Sooter)

Featured on Lake's 2022 album HELP!, this banger of a song doesn't shy away from some very real, very human struggles many of us face daily. Anxiety can be a touchy subject in the church, even though it shouldn't be. People with anxiety disorders can still have faith and hope in the Lord; it just looks a little different than people who don't suffer from that.

My mind feels like a circus, taming tigers, flaming torches/I can’t deal with my own conscience/The truth and lies entangled, dodging arrows at every angle/Why does life feel like a jungle/Come take this weight off my chest, come put this chaos to rest/I think I’m losing my mind/Help, help/When the panic attacks and I’ve got my back up against the wall/Help, help/Come and invade the fear and the flames, hear me when I call/Help

Psalm 121:1-2 I look up to the mountains - does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!

Canyons by Cory Asbury (written by C. Asbury, E. Hulse)

Featured on Asbury's 2020 album To Love a Fool, this song explores the fact that we can never stray so far from the Lord that He can't reach us. Even when we feel like we've dug ourselves so deep in the hole that rescue is impossible, He can, and wants to, reach out His hand to help us out and back into the light. His warm, eternal embrace is never too far away to be folded into.

And I’ve scaled all the highest of mountains/And I’ve stood at the edge of their peaks/But I still couldn’t see to the edge of/Your love for me/And I walked on the wildest of waters/And I’ve sunk to the depths of the sea/But I still couldn’t fathom the depths of/Your love for me/Canyons wide, oceans deep/Can’t contain all Your love for me/No matter how high or far I reach/There’s no end to Your love for me

Lamentations 3:31-32 For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love.

My Help (Live) by Josh Baldwin (written by J. Baldwin, C. D'Clario, M. Harris, Z. Rowe)

Featured on Baldwin's 2024 live album Made For More, this song reflects on the ways God helps us. His faithfulness, His light, His very Name come to our rescue more than we even realize. The Psalms declare the words used in the chorus: my help comes from the Lord.

Oh my soul, forget not all His benefits/How His light has shown through darker days than this/He has been faithful, He’s always faithful/Even as I’m walking through the wilderness/Standing in the valley, I’ll remember this/He has been faithful, He’s always faithful/I know where my help comes from, my help comes from the Lord/I know where my help comes from, my help comes from the Lord/My confidence remains in the name above all names/Yeah, I know where my help comes from, my help comes from the Lord, yeah

Psalm 23:4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

Hold On to Me by Lauren Daigle (written by L. Daigle, P. Duncan, P. Mabury)

Released as a single in 2021, this beautiful song is a reminder of Who we should cling to most in times of need. I don't fully agree with the wording in the chorus as God shines brighter than any darkness, but I understand the sentiment they were going for. No matter how hopeless we feel, we are never alone when we have a relationship with the Father.

When the best of me is barely breathing/When I’m not somebody I believe in/Hold on to me/When I miss the light the night has stolen/When I’m slamming all the doors You’ve opened/Hold on to me/Hold on to me/Hold on to me when it’s too dark to see You/When I am sure I have reached the end/Hold on to me when I forget I need You/When I let go, hold me again

Psalm 91:14-16 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”

Even If by MercyMe (written by B. Glover, B. Millard, T. Timmons, C. Lewis, B. Graul, D. Garcia, M. Scheuchzer, N. Cochran, R. Shaffer)

Featured on MercyMe's 2017 album Lifer, this powerful song reminds us that hope should be our anchor when we're faced with trials. As a worship leader myself, I can empathize with the first verse and the description of leading when you feel like you should be doing anything but. Even if things don't turn out the way we think they should, we can be confident that God will use the outcome for His glory and the good of His kingdom.

They say sometimes you win some, sometimes you lose some/And right now, right now, I’m losing bad/I’ve stood on this stage night after night reminding the broken it’ll be alright/But right now, oh, right now, I just can’t/It’s easy to sing when there’s nothing to bring me down/But what will I say when I’m held to the flame like I am right now/I know You’re able and I know You can/Save through the fire with Your mighty hand/But even if You don’t/My hope is You alone

Psalm 42:11 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again - my Savior and my God!

Not For A Moment (After All) by Meredith Andrews (written by M. Andrews, J. Sooter, M. Fieldes)

Featured on Andrews's 2012 album Worth It All, this song declares the truth of this post's theme: never for one moment are God's children forsaken by Him. It goes against His very nature to even entertain the opposite. No matter the storm we face, He is there to calm the waves.

You were reaching through the storm, walking on the water/Even when I could not see/In the middle of it all when I thought You were a thousand miles away/Not for a moment did You forsake me/Not for a moment did You forsake me/After all, You are constant/After all, You are only good/After all, You are sovereign/Not for a moment will You forsake me

John 6:19-20 They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!”

Now & Forever (Live) by Mosaic MSC (written by A. Figueroa, M. McManus)

Featured on Mosaic's 2016 live album Glory & Wonder, this song recognizes that our help truly comes from the Lord. Like sheep know their shepherd, we know that our God is for us in the highest highs and the lowest lows. He never changes, He never abandons us, and He will always answer us when we call.

I see the way You move within us/I know Your voice/You breathe a life surrounding/I know Your love/Your love is amazing, calling me out, You save me/I’m overwhelmed, unchanging, now and forever/Your love has healed me, taken my shame completely/Now I can hear you speaking, now and forever

Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. He drives out the enemy before you; he cries out, “Destroy them!”

I hope this playlist was a blessing to you today. Happy listening, and see yall next week!