MEAGHAN MAY | CONTRIBUTOR

My Help Comes from the Lord
A Song of Ascents.
Psalm 121

1  I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?

 2  My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

3  He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.

4  Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5  The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.

6  The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7  The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.

8  The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

A few weeks ago, my family and I joyfully approached the end of my husband’s nine-week assignment away from us. He was set to fly home from a base near Montgomery, Alabama, but as the day approached, we realized that Hurricane Helene was the last obstacle between us. As we watched the weather coverage, we recalled our own experience of Hurricane Ian when it came ashore in south Florida. As we remembered visiting our neighbors’ soggy homes and apartments, washing their laundry, and sorting through their belongings hoping to find a starting place to rebuild, we now prayed for many friends whose lives would be impacted by another great storm.

Encouragement from Psalm 121

Psalm 121, a song of ascents, played in the background of my thoughts as I texted and messaged our PCA family. These fifteen psalms are a familiar text that I use to ponder our pilgrim life lived in community. But these last difficult days, this psalm has been a prayer for our sisters, scattered throughout Florida and the southeast.

The psalmist knew his vulnerability as he scrambled up the hillside toward Jerusalem. He was not alone, but still, the pilgrims who ascended this trail were susceptible to falling, scorching sun in the day, bandits, flash floods, wild animals, dehydration, and sheer exhaustion. Without a GPS, map, or compass, there may have been moments on the path when one would wonder if they had lost the way. Something about this climb made the pilgrims’ vulnerability more obvious.

Ascending the hill to Jerusalem, their weakness and dependence were amplified. This is the same treacherous path Jesus mentions in the story of the Good Samaritan. The one who was robbed and left for dead had been on this dangerous road. The journey was daunting and intimidating because it revealed their limits and demonstrated their need. What could they depend on? Exhaustion, hopelessness, and doubt threatened to overcome them. Every step was a step of faith.

Who is our help? The psalmist looks beyond the intimidation of the hills to their Maker, he asks, “Who is my Help?” With eyes lifted, his focus shifts. All of a sudden, the One who not only made the hills, but all things, is at the center of the story he is telling, and his hope expands. The psalmist starts to live upwardly, similar to what Paul wrote, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).

God is our helper. In Hebrew poetry, a word is emphasized through repetition. This Helper, the psalmist declares, is his Keeper. The God of Israel is our Keeper. How does He keep us? Throughout the next verses the psalmist notes, God does not forget us. He watches over us and holds us close. Nothing in the day nor night, or the times between, will get past Him. God protects and guards His people. The Lord clings to His beloved and declares, much like my children with a prized possession, “This is mine!” “Keeping” involves protecting and preserving something of great value. You, dear sisters, belong to Him and He holds you closely.

Maybe this has not been your experience, and you are thinking, “If God has been with us, why has harm befallen us?” The Apostle Paul knew personally the harmful circumstances that could befall a Christian, for his own life was unfathomably altered, and yet in Romans 8:37-39 he writes with great hope. Paul was secure in the love of Christ, even in the face of hardships. God kept him even to the end, where he now finds himself safe in the love of the Lord, resting in His presence.

Secure in Christ’s love. Psalm 121 does not guarantee that the Christian pilgrim will escape life’s problems. We will walk hard roads. But God, our Keeper, will be near us as we journey through them. The keeper of your life does not wait for you to ascend this hill to preserve you. He came down from high above to ascend it on your behalf. He supplies strength to endure the journey. Jesus was defenseless and vulnerable so that we are secure in His love. You are not discarded, forgotten, punished, or alone. You cannot face a scenario in which the Lord will not keep you, not even in death. It’s true, your problems have likely not disappeared, yet your greatest need is not simply new circumstances. No circumstance can touch what God has provided for you in Christ.  You are of great value to Him.

If you’ve found yourself on a hard journey today, may Psalm 121 encourage you with the truth that God is your Keeper.

Photo by Amin Hasani on Unsplash