1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121
Throughout the Bible, you can find stories of courage and bravery. There was Abraham who was told by God to go, and he got up, packed his things, and went without an idea where God was leading him. There was Moses who was told by God to lead the Israelites (God’s people) out of Egypt to the Promised Land. There was Daniel who was told not to pray but prayed and fasted anyways which landed up in the lion’s den, but God closed the mouths of the lions. In the New Testament, there was Mary, a young engaged woman, who found favor with God and became the mother of Jesus. There was the apostles who left their father’s homes to follow Jesus of Nazareth, the son of a carpenter.
Psalm 121 came to me when thinking of what all those stories have in common. It was God. They all were about God and each person let God direct their lives.
Looking into Psalm 121, I saw different commentaries considered Psalm 121 to be more of a traveler’s psalm. A psalm for someone on the road or setting off on a journey, as opposed to soldiers or military-inspired psalm. It begins with looking up to God, acknowledging that God is over us and that our help comes from God.
It puts our confidence in God. Letting God know that we believe and trust that He will guide us and will watch over us.
Then it ends with a blessing to the traveler. A blessing that the Lord will watch over you now and in your coming days.
This psalm reminds me everytime I see my parents. Whether they are moving me into a new apartment or I am saying goodbye to them so I can drive home. When I would go and hug my dad, he would hug me back, and pray out loud to God to keep me safe. Looking back on it, I realized that prayer follows me on the road with the crazy drivers. It gave me courage to merge onto highway and to thank God whenever I noticed what the other drivers were doing that made me react safely. God is our helper and through him, we have courage.
This week, I pray Psalm 121 over you. I pray that your eyes will be lifted up to the mountains and you see that your help comes from the Lord. I pray that God will watch over you day and night, at home and on the road, and God will watch over you this week and the next.
Elizabeth