PSALM 121
I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
My favorite Psalm as a child and even now is Psalm 121. It depicts a God who is both awesome in greatness and yet One who is present and interested in me. It contains the big “O” words of theology in simple, plain language. Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresence; all powerful, all knowing, all present always. But what really grips me is that the God of Psalm 121 is personal and cares about me and cares about you. God cares enough about us and active in our lives; to be present, to watch over us, to be with us in all that we do and in all phases of life now and forever. The powerful, amazing God who has created all the world, cares about me enough to watch over me.
Like the song of love and grace from the book “Love You Forever,” Psalm 121 is a love song from God:
I’ll love you forever
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I’m living
My baby you’ll be
We live in an anxious time. Worry, anxiety, and depression often flow from a combination of fatigue and fear and the sense of not being in control of our lives. Fear is future focused, tomorrow focused. Jesus reminds us to “take no thought for tomorrow” (Matthew 6:25-34). Jesus’ invitation and the invitation of Psalm 121 is to focus on and be confident in God’s presence and activity in our lives now, today. This is a spiritual discipline for me, especially at times when I am crippled with anxiety as I contemplate “fightings without and fears within” (from hymn “Just as I Am”). Rather than being consumed with endless worry, I am reminded to seek help, and my help comes from the Lord and the community of faith. We are not alone. God is with us and actively watching over us today and all days. May we trust and walk in the assurance that we are not alone because God is with us now and forevermore.
Gracious God, when I am worried about tomorrow it is hard to celebrate your goodness today. Remind us that you are with us, you love us, and you will never let us go. Assured of your presence, help us share your grace and goodness to others. We pray in the name of the One who holds the future and us, Jesus Christ. Amen.