Worthy or Not?

Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. On one of my trips doing the work of IFCJ Canada, I spoke with an elderly Jewish man. His health was not the greatest and he lived in terrible conditions. When I gave him a food package, he was shocked. — Psalm 3:2-3

Every Sunday, we begin the week with an inspirational lesson from the beloved Book of Psalms. Written by King David and others, these ancient songs and prayers have given voice to God’s people in moments of joy, sorrow, praise, and thanksgiving for thousands of years—and remain at the heart of both Jewish and Christian worship today.

I explained to him that this is a gift from Christian friends around the world. I explained that one of the ways they live out their faith is by caring for people like him. His response shook me: “I don’t deserve to be helped by God.” He went on to tell me that he lived his life under Soviet rule, with no faith and no practice of Jewish tradition. He told me that he didn’t think he was worthy of such help.

I sat quietly for a minute and then answered. “God’s help, and the help of those who have faith in Him, isn’t about who’s deserving. God loves you and all He wants is for you to have faith in Him.”

God’s mercy extends to all of us.

We see that God’s love and mercy is not dependent on any human idea of “worthiness” in Psalm 3: “Many are saying of me, ‘God will not deliver him.’ But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.” Look at the names of God in these two verses. In the first verse God is called “God,” Elohim in Hebrew. But then, immediately after, He is called “LORD,” Adonai.

According to Jewish tradition, the name Elohim refers to God as He appears in the natural order. In fact, this is the only name of God used in the Creation story in Genesis 1. Because this name is associated with the natural order, it also implies rational cause and effect, and the attribute of justice. On the other hand, the name of God in the second verse is Adonai, the personal and loving side of God, the God of mercy.

Here, King David is saying that those who looked at him concluded that he was unworthy of God’s deliverance. And like

David, while it may be true based on pure justice that we are not worthy of God’s help, the Lord—our God of mercy and love—is always there to help us.