Getting to Know God: Jehovah Azar

Wednesday was just one of those days--you know, the kind where you just want to go to bed and stay there until the day is done.  As usual, I had more tasks to do than I had time to do them.  Having been down with a dislocated shoulder at the beginning of the week, I felt compelled to "catch up" from my downtime.  Never a good idea!  Not only does it put me in a foul mood, but inevitably, it causes me to get in such a hurry that I don't pay attention to things like I should.  Again, never a good idea!

After completing my blogs and some other writing, I went to the laundry room to transfer the clothes from the dryer to the basket for folding and the clothes from the washer to the dryer.  Unfortunately, the clothes in the dryer were still soaking wet because I had failed to start the dryer the last time I had transferred clothes.  (You would think the dryer could figure out for itself that I want it to dry the wet clothes, but I haven't yet figured out how to convince it that it doesn't need my permission.  Just go for it!  Anyway. . .)  Frustrated, I slammed the dryer door and set the dry cycle.

Determined to make the best use of my time, I decided to unload and reload the dishwasher while I was waiting for the clothes to dry.  As soon as I opened the dishwasher, I realized there was a problem.  Not only were the dishes still dirty, but they were a different kind of dirty than when I had loaded them.  I knew the dishwasher had run, but these dishes were far from clean.  Having used a new brand of dishwashing detergent packs, I pulled the package out of the cabinet to see if I could spot something that might have caused such a mess.  As soon as I saw the picture of the washing machine on the back of the package, I realized my mistake.  It wasn't dishwashing liquid; it was laundry detergent.  News flash:  Laundry detergent will NOT clean the dishes in your dishwasher.  Trust me, I know!

At that point, I was just about ready to call it a day.  I had had enough "fun" for one afternoon.  Little did I know that my mistakes were going to spill into the next day too.  When Jason informed me that he had to go into work extra early on Thursday morning, I decided to get his lunch and coffee ready Wednesday night before going to bed.  That way, if I wasn't ready to get out of bed (which I wasn't), his stuff would be ready to go.  Imagine my dismay when I stumbled into the kitchen at 8:30 on Thursday morning and noticed the green standby light on the coffee pot was lit.  I was confused.  I had set the timer for 6:00 so that it would be hot and ready when Jason left around 7:00.  Assured that I had set the timer, I checked.  Sure enough, I had set it for 6:00. . . in the evening.  So, there it was Valentine's Day, and I didn't even have a cup of coffee to give my sweet hubby.  Not a good way to begin the day!  Tears filled my eyes as I stared at the little green light mocking me and my stupidity.  And in my frustration, I uttered the first words that came to my mind, "Lord, I need help!"

Have you ever had one of "those" days?  (Please say "yes" so I don't feel like such a moron.)  Some days, it just seems like everything and everyone is against us, doesn't it?  But the truth is, there is One who is always for us.  He is always on our side.  He's got our backs.  And He offers help in the forms of love, strength and encouragement.  He is Jehovah Azar, the Lord our helper.

Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. - Psalm 54:4

No matter what the day holds, Jehovah Azar can help us through.  There is no limit to His strength, no end to His resources.  There is no problem He cannot handle and no foe who can stand against Him.  He is our help.  He promised as much in Isaiah 41:10, a verse which, interestingly enough, I was reading the day before all my trouble began.  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Don't miss the importance of this verse.  Notice God says, "I will", not "I might".  There is no condition to this promise.  The only thing we have to do for this help is receive it.  Now I know that's difficult for some of us who think we're Wonder Woman.  It's hard to ask for help and even harder to admit that we need help.  But when someone is offering to help, don't you think it's a bit rude to turn it down?  Think about it, the God of all Heaven and Earth is offering to help us with our piddly little problems (at least, they're piddly to Him).  Nevertheless, He knows that they're big problems to us, so in His great love and compassion, He offers His aid.  What is our response?

I wish I could say that I always accept His offer, but the truth is, sometimes my pride gets in the way, and I find myself saying, "No thanks, Lord, I can handle it."  But you know what?  I can't handle it.  All I manage to do is make a mess of things and ruin my attitude in the process.  Brilliant, huh?  What if I were to live my life more like the psalmist whose response to trouble was, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2)?  Wouldn't life run much smoother?

Jehovah Azar -- God is our helper!  No matter the problem, He's the solution.  He can turn our sorrow into joy, our mourning into dancing, our night into day.  He can make a way when it seems there is no way.  And He is ready and willing to give us all the help we need.  We only need to accept it.

Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm still behind on both laundry and dishes, but I did discover something today--the laundry detergent packs work much better in the washer than they did in the dishwasher.  Hmm, who would've thunk it?