PSALM 121 – 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.”

As we read today’s theme, our thoughts are immediately drawn to likely the most familiar of all Bible verses – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). And John 3:16 draws us to the cross of Christ – the greatest act of God’s love – And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on across (Philippians 2:8). But God’s love doesn’t end with the giving of His Son, the Lord Jesus, unto death on a cross for our sins. Oh, no, we enjoy continual and abundant actions of the His love to us. Today’s Psalm is a “treasure chest” of those actions; actions we are to embrace by faith and live on each day. Let’s consider two.

First, we embrace the love of God who keeps us from falling away from Him – He will not let your foot be moved. Yes, we will fall many times on the road to heaven, but fall away we will not. The love of God proclaims His keeping power in these words from one of the great doxologies in the Bible-Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen(Jude 24-25). When life gets overwhelming, and it will, cling to this action of God’s love–the sure promise of His keeping us close to Himself.

Another act of God’s love we are to embrace is God’s protective love-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. The majority of this Psalm is about God’s protecting hand over our lives. But let’s be careful not to assume this means no suffering, no pain, no discomfort, and even no martyrdom. This is not a declaration of a life free of troubles. It is a promise that no matter what happens, God is our God, our keeper, our sustainer, and whatever He deems necessary, even pain, for our good and His glory, He will be with us in every test and trial. Yes, the greatest act of God’s love is the cross. The greatest act of God’s love is His promised companionship. Think about it. What is more comforting and affirming of His love in this difficult life than this promise-Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20b).

PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for what You have promised to be to me and for me.”
QUOTE: “The Lord’s love for us is not in words only but in many actions of His strengthening and comforting grace.”

Because of Him,
Pastor Jim