So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:6 NKJV

Imagine that you are headed for Niagara Falls. You can’t wait to get there, because, though you have never been there before, you have heard from others about its amazing beauty and power. Along the way you see a signpost ahead, “Niagara Falls, 30 miles.” Though, you get excited to see the sign, and grateful that your destination is close, you do not pull over, get out of your car and set up camp. No! You have not traveled to see the signpost. You want to see the real thing!

That is a funny thought, but strange as it may sound, we who have been Christians for a while, can easily begin to think that we are the destination instead of the signpost, and we forget that our only job is to point the way to Jesus.

In today’s verse, the phrase, “The Lord is my helper,” is such a curious term that, since I didn’t understand it, I mentally filed it away under the heading, “Check back later.” It felt awkward because Jesus was certainly not under my command. I knew that He was far more than a good handyman to call when the kitchen sink springs a leak. But when I looked it up, I discovered that the Greek word here does not mean that God is our servant. Instead, it says that He is someone who shows up when I am in a fight with someone stronger than me and chases them off. But unfortunately, it is our tendency to take credit for what God has done, forgetting that we are just supposed to be the signpost. There is nothing amazing about a signpost. No one puts a parking area around a sign or builds a 5-star hotel for people to stay overnight there. As signposts we simply point to Jesus and His amazing power, love, and mercy. And He promises us that if we are faithful, one day we will do more than point the way to Him: We will arrive in Heaven, see Him face to face and worship at the feet of Jesus Christ!