Day 11 - Confidence in God

Written by: Nathan Boyd

SCRIPTURE FOCUS
Psalm 121, NLT
“I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! 3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. 5 The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. 6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. 7 The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.”  

DEVOTION
Before we had kids we would go on road trips to Nashville, Savannah, Charleston, and DC. These were great trips and even the car rides were fun. Depending on the season we might roll down the windows, pop in a CD (yes, this was several years ago) and sing to the latest popular song, or an old classic. Sometimes we downloaded a book on Audible and listened to a funny memoir together driving down the road. These drives, and trips, are great memories and were a whole lot of fun.

Psalm 121 was the “road trip” music of the Old Testament. It might not seem as catchy as Sweet Home Alabama or Don’t Stop Believing, but this Psalm would have brought great comfort to the Israelite pilgrims as they made their way to the temple in Jerusalem.

Psalm 121 is a psalm of ascent, meaning it is sung on the way up; Jerusalem is a relatively elevated place in relation to the valleys surrounding it. The 4 or 5 day journey was often difficult and dangerous, and this psalm reminded God’s people of an incredibly important truth: His presence with and protection over His people is constant and unfailing.

From reading the New Testament we know that this trip would have been completed by Jesus and his family on multiple occasions and as Jesus grew older and began his ministry he made this track annually with his disciples. I can not help but wonder about the final journey that Jesus made from Galilee to Jerusalem. Jesus had already created quite a stir with the religious leaders of his day and they wanted Him executed. Jesus’ disciples even urged him not to go to Jerusalem because they knew what fate awaited him (Matthew 16).

Jesus was not unaware of the evil plot to take his life, in fact he willingly made the journey because it was all a part of his Father’s eternal plan. As he walked across the rocky, mountainous terrain with his disciples, and the crowd that followed him, these words from Psalm 121 would have rang out - “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…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 Jesus marched towards his death, he was not worried or afraid but rather he turned his eyes to his Father to be his ever-present help in his time of need (Psalm 46:1). Jesus knew that in a few short hours he would “walk through the valley of the shadow of death, [but he] feared no evil, for the Lord was with him.”

The truth of this Psalm would have brought great comfort to Jesus on his journey, but it also provides hope to those of us who are followers of Jesus today. We too are on an ascent - we have been redeemed out of sin through Christ, and now we are being conformed to His likeness day after day as we continue on the difficult and dangerous journey of life that will ultimately lead us up to Heaven and eternal worship of our God. As we walk through the mountainous terrain of today let us be reminded to find our help from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

ACTION STEP
Today write down your own personal interpretation of Psalm 121, acknowledging where your help comes from. Think about the times in the past that the Lord has helped you and write down a prayer of thanksgiving to Him.

PRAYER TIME
Father, I acknowledge that far too often I try to find help from other sources other than you, but Lord help me to lift my eyes not to the hills but to you. Holy Spirit help me to be dependent upon you to give me exactly what I need, when I need it.