What is Your Help in times of Trouble?

A Very Present Help

Pastor Calvin Cook

December 10, 2025

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 (NIV)

The last couple of weeks have been deep heart wrenching times of ministry. Not just by being a Pastor but being a friend. Loosing people to death, visiting and sitting with people that are going through difficult times. Trying even to sort out situations that are consuming time and thought that effects the passion that I strive to have in being follower of Jesus.

We all deal with a lot of struggles. Some look different to others and are perceived differently, but most are the same. I won’t list them because you know what they are.

Yesterday, I had some strange sickness that virtually put me down. I spent all yesterday in what might be referred to as repose. I basically laid around all day, with a blanket, and of course a cat. It seemed as if our two cats took shifts.

While I did this, I did it without any distraction. I was in my room where there is no tv, or a social media influence, I just really felt the desire that the healing I would experience had to be from God. I am thankful for the care that Gail gave me, for the folks that I minister with through the church picking up the pieces, those who checked in on me, and the powerful anointing that I felt from prayer, from James visiting me, my covenant brothers who I was supposed to be with, and mostly the presence of the Holy Spirit.

I admit, yesterday I took leave. I did think about some things that need my attention in the days ahead. Most of my thoughts kept drifting back to this season of Advent. The expectancy we should have of what God can and will do in our lives if we allow it. I thought about what it must have been like back in the days of Isaiah, probably something like three thousand years ago when the people are described as “walking in darkness”

How not that much has changed. That we have an all present God, yet we allow many other things to influence our lives and most importantly our souls.

I came away from yesterday really resting on the scriptures that focus on finding our shelter in God. Knowing that the physical stuff we spend so much time on will crumble, the wealth we chase after will be spent or stolen, our popularity will fade, that everything we have will begone, except for that eternal love and care of God.

My prayer is that we have that moment to really just set aside time to focus on God, what is important, and what will bring us to the place we all need to be.