Reading: Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will 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.
He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at 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 on and forevermore.

Reflection
Many of the psalms are designed to give us hope, as in “let’s turn to God, the one who has power over all things,” and Psalm 121 certainly fits that description. Let’s break things down just a bit. Verse 1 asks a question important to all humans, especially during times when feel anxious, or helpless or alone, which is bound to happen to all of us at some point or another. Perhaps we have received bad news from our physician. Maybe we have lost a loved one. Or maybe we find ourselves sad and alone after a broken relationship. Maybe we are in financial distress after losing our source of income. There are all kinds of reasons in life to ask the question; “from where will my help come?”

The next verse tells us where, followed by the rest of the psalm explaining why. We turn to the Lord. God is everything; the creator of all things and our protector. God is there, watching over us 24/7. Nothing can harm us, because God will not let that happen.

Perhaps we might question that part just a bit, because the experiences of this life have shown us differently. We see hurt and evil at work in all kinds of ways. It is a part of this fallen creation that we cannot escape. It is what often causes our anxiety and sense of despair, and makes us feel hopeless at times.

I think verse 8 is helpful in wrapping things up. God will see us through, perhaps most importantly; “from this time on and forevermore.” Forevermore is a long time. That is why we turn to God during our most difficult moments, because we trust that whatever this life brings, even death at the end, is still not the end. As followers of Jesus, we know better. The tomb could not hold him, and because he rose, we will rise with him. The promise made in this psalm was fulfilled in Christ

–Tormod Svensson

Prayer:

God of eternal life, help me to always turn to you for guidance and support, especially when I question why things happen the way they do in this life. Help me to trust in your steadfastness, and the hope you have given us in Jesus Christ.

Amen.