PSALM 121 – A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.”

If after reading today’s scripture, you couldn’t restrain yourself from shouting to the Lord words and songs of praise, adoration, love, and thanksgiving, that is quite okay. It is one of those type of Psalms. After reading every line, all we should be able to do is humbly bow down and be lost in the holy amazement that the God described is our God, and is not ashamed to be owned by us as our God! As we read the Psalm, meditate on all that the Lord promises to be and do to His people. They cover everything we will encounter in this difficult and challenging life.

First, God is our source of help no matter our needs or circumstances. It is the best of helps and based on the power of the God who made all things–“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” If He spoke everything into being, then He is able to speak peace to our troubled hearts when we need His help.

Next, God watches over us, 24/7, with a protective hand–“He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” Child of God, don’t let anxiety keep you staring into the ceiling at night. Sleep well, He who made and saved you, also watches over you with a loving hand.

A third praiseworthy role and act of our God is His comforting grace when the “heat of trials and tribulations” come upon us–“The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.” Remember all our trials come from God, not a surprise to God, and they serve good purposes. He isn’t destroying us in them, but developing us in them and He will comfort us in “His shade” as we go through them.

Finally, our God will preserve us all the way to heaven. We will not be defeated by sin, Satan, or even ourselves. He will be our guide even through the valley of the shadow of death–“The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever more.” We need not fear the future or be spiritually paralyzed in present circumstances over what is happening in our world. Why? Our God is our keeping God. And He will keep us all the way home; home to heaven to be with Him forever. This is our God. Rejoice always.

PRAYER: “Father, what an amazing God You are and even more amazing is that You allow me to call You ‘My God.’”

QUOTE: “Don’t let a day go by without offering praise and thanksgiving for all that God has promised to be to us.”

Because of Him,

Pastor Jim