When you find your heart down and low, when things in your life are tumbling out of control. When those you love are suffering, and you directly can not help them; where does your heart go, who do you turn to for help, for strength, for power to overcome? Psalm 121 tells us who to turn to, who to depend upon, who to rely on. Lets take Psalm 121 one line upon another, lets see what God tells us to do; the attitude He wants us to have -- which causes Him to move on our behalf.
Verse 1 reads, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help? The hills that are being talked about are the hills that surround Jerusalem, where Mount Zion and Mount Moriah dwell; here, God will dwell when He comes to rule the Earth through His Son Jesus. A question is asked, where will your help come from? Read Jeremiah 3:23.
Verse 2 reads, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” This is the attitude that the Lord wants us to have; that our help comes from Him. Not only is this to be our attitude, but we are to realize that He is the one who made the Heavens and the Earth. Knowing that He made all of this, then as individuals we should know that our problems shouldn't be impossible in His Hands - which should bring peace to our hearts.
Verse 3 reads, “He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.” Though in our human thoughts we may feel we have slipped and fallen, in God's eyes, He will not let this happen. He will not let us slip or fall, to where we can not get back up, to where we can not function on this Earth. While we go through the adversities of our life, God is not slumbering, He is not asleep; He is always on call, working on our behalf. When we as individuals think that things are not happening, God is on top of everything, working behind the scene, putting things into place on our behalf, read First Samuel 2:9; Psalm 127:1; Proverbs 3:23,26; Isaiah 27:3.
Verse 4 states, “Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Again God makes a point that He will not sleep on us, that He is fully alert and aware. (This is an important point, which God is trying to get each person to realize) Yet, we are also told that the God, who watches over Israel, is doing the same with us. Think about this, if you know your Scriptures, then you know that God would do anything to protect Israel. Though He became angry with them and let them have their way sometimes, which bought them trouble; in the end, He protected and restored them. (Read the whole Bible, it's about God and His love for Mankind. In the Old Testament, God worked through the nation of Israel, through the bloodline of Abraham, to reach Mankind. In the New Testament, He became human, walking the Earth as His Son, to reach the World, read John 1:1-14) If God never slept or slumbered over Israel, then how much more for those that lean upon Him through His Son?
Verse 5, “The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.” There is a question, which is asked among human beings, that some actually step out and live, “Am I My Brother's Keeper?” If there are some humans who live with this reality in their hearts, of being the Keeper of their fellow man; then how much more with God, towards Human Beings? We are told in this verse that God is keeper of those that Believe. Not only is He your keeper, but He is your shade, protecting your opposite side. He is the one protecting your side, the side not carrying your Shield -- Faith is your Shield. Those things you Struggle in -- He is holding up.
Verse 6 “The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.” We learn here that God will protect you, hold you up, keep you from stumbling, during the day or the night, read Psalm 91:5; Isaiah 49:10; Revelation 7:16.
Verse 7 “The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; he shall preserve your soul.” The Lord will keep us from the evil that is spreading on this Earth. Remember the prayer of Jesus before His physical death; He didn't ask God to remove us from the Earth, but to protect us while we're on the Earth, read all of John 17, verse 15 reads, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” God shall maintain our spiritual life, our inner being; He will keep us strong spiritually.
Verse 8, “The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.” We learn here that God will protect and maintain us; He will carry on and sustain those that lean upon Him. These promises are meant to be lived while we are walking this Earth, in the Land of the Living. These are Experiences that are suppose to be Expected now, by the individual believer, towards Him.
This whole chapter is a Promise, relating to having a certain attitude, from the individual believer. Ask yourself, “Upon whom do I trust? Upon whom do I lean?” Search the Scriptures relating to your situation; speak what has been Promised, allow God to work on your behalf, read Joshua 1:8-9; Isaiah 55.
