October 2026: On the Side: He Will Help Us

by Shelly Wyrick

Seriously, He will actually help us.

Have you ever known a bible verse, maybe been really familiar with it, but then something happens? You go through a trial, a loss, or even a victory, and instead of just knowing the verse, you feel like you are living it? Before you knew it, but now it’s branded on your soul? Isaiah 41:13 is a fresh brand for me.
 
Our barn burned down last month in the Spokane Complex Wildfires. It’s a trifle compared to losing a home, but it is something. And in the relatively nothing-but-still-something trial, I’ve realized this: God is with us. 
 
For real. He is actually with us.
 
And he will definitely help us.
 
He is with us in the big scary moments. We were supposed to be in Yellowstone that week, so my husband had the travel trailer hitched to his truck and ready to roll. When the wildfire evacuation notice went from no warning to “go now,” we evacuated, towing our place to stay. Thank you, Lord. As a sidenote, the fact that the trailer was not parked in its usual spot next to the barn also saved the trailer. 
 
We drove to my parents' house, 5 minutes away, and evacuated them with us. Absurdly, in that 5-minute drive, it went from raining ashes to a bright, sunny day, so my folks had no idea how serious it was, but they evacuated immediately. Thank you, Lord.
 
I’m a sensitive person.  I held it together. Thank You, Lord.
 
Sometime in the middle of that night, someone sent a photo of 3 horses munching on a front lawn. They were our horses. I cannot imagine the pain for my 14-year-old daughter (their caretaker) had they not survived. Thank you, Lord. 
 
Those 3 horses had found 2 others nearby who were safe and grazed with them until my husband found them the next morning. He knocked on the nearby door; an elderly woman answered and said she’d be glad to keep the boys for us. Thank You, Lord, for incredible neighbors.
 
We’ve heard that our neighbor, who's a bit wild, drove over on his tractor and fought for our house, and that firefighters drove water trucks across our fields to fight the fire. At some point, I was sent a photo of a smoldering barn, with a beautiful blue house standing in the distance. With the grass scorched within 15 feet of our garage, they saved our home. Thank You, Lord, for wild neighbors and fearless firefighters.
 
Isaiah 41:13 says, “For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand. Who says to you, do not fear, I will help you.”
God helps us in big ways. I lived that out on Aug 1, 2026. But lean in, I want you to know something equally important. God helps us in small ways. Remember, I am a sensitive person, and I held it together. Tucked in a list of big items, like our house and the horses' survival, is the short line of holding it together, which seems…small. But my friends, I’m telling you that this small thing means everything to me. I am a woman who will cry reading a children’s book. So for me to stay strong as a mama, this is a big deal. God helped me through the havoc by reminding me, moment by moment, over and over, to choose His peace.  Thank You, Lord
 
Weeks have passed. As I write this, I am watching an excavator put the rubble of the barn I designed into a dump truck.  And in these weeks, there’s been an exhaustive list of little things to do. What’s surprised me is that I've more than once not held it together. That’s right, I’ve lost it. The big fire is over. But I hope I’m not alone in saying sometimes it’s the tedious that tears us down. 
 
But then I’m reminded again of Isaiah 41:13: “I will help you.” It doesn’t say that God will only help you when you are in a terrifying natural disaster. It doesn’t say He’ll only help you on Wednesdays. Or help you only when you’ve been good. 
 
He simply says He will help you. God always wants to help you, and wants to help you, always.
 
If you’re looking at your life as a medical wife and seeing what seem like tedious trials, trifle bumps in the road, and exhaustive to-do lists, I want you to know God is here with us, and He will help us.
 
Some days, I have to remind myself of this often. I’m guessing that I gratefully invite God into my little mess somewhere around 30 times a day. More on hard days. It’s become a bit of a habit, and on this side of the habit formation, I can tell you it will change your life. Don’t get discouraged because you feel like you should be fine because after all, it’s not like you’re running from a wildfire. No, these little things that you need God’s help with matter. He wants to help you. The best part of that help isn’t found in a completed to-do list. It is in forming a joy-filled life to the full. It’s there for the taking- let Him help.
 
Heavenly Father, thank you so much that we can run to you in the face of danger. And just as much, Lord, we thank you that we can turn to you in the mundane.  Thank you for infusing good days and bad with the untouchable joy we find when we welcome Your help.
 
Shelly Wyrick is wife to her manly medical man and mom to four kids ages eleven to nineteen. She worked as a physical therapist before becoming a stay-at-home mom and freelance artist and writer, creating content to help families grow in Christ.  You can find more of her articles on Substack at https://substack.com/@shellywyrick.