He journeys life with us

Psalm 121

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.
¹ 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.

This is one of a series of Psalms the people of Israel sang as they walked and made pilgrimage to Jerusalem for religious festivals. It was an uphill walk because Jerusalem is up the hill from the Jordan and areas around it.

I can imagine the people walking along singing, encouraging one another on their journey up to the city, reminding each other that God is with them on their journey through life.

This Psalm reminds us who it is we trust to be with us on this journey. We trust God because of his character, because of who he is. From this Psalm we see:

Verse 2: he is my helper. We can depend on him to keep us on the “path”. My feet (heart) can “slip” as I journey through a hostile world, when I face rough times, by screwing up my priorities, by focusing on myself. With God as my helper, I won’t lose my way and not make it to “Jerusalem.”

Verse 2: he is the Maker of heaven and Earth. He is the God of all power.

Verse 3: he is a guardian who watches over me. God does not sleep or nod off! The people living around Israel believed gods had to sleep or rest like people (see 1 Kings 18:27 when Elijah taunted the prophets of Baal about whether their God was sleeping so maybe they should cry out louder to wake him.) Our God is vigilant.

Verse 5: he is my shade at my right hand – this is believed to be a military image because soldiers carried their shield in their left hand and their weapon in their right. So, they benefited from the presence of another soldier at their right hand who could shield them in an attack. God stands beside me in the fight for my faith so I can withstand Satan’s attacks.

Verse 7: he is my keeper. Wherever I am God watches out for me.

As I journey through life, this is the God who is with me. He is a God who I can have confidence in because of who he is.

Dear Heavenly Father, that you will be on this life journey with me is wonderful. Even though the journey will be taxing, through hostile territory and at times wearing me out, I can rely on you to guard and keep me, to shield me. Help me to encourage someone else today with this truth – as we journey through life, you are the ultimate companion. Amen

Written by Claire Moore