Psalm 121: An Uphill Battle

The weekend Psalm for:
October.3-4.2009
Read Psalm 121 from the English Standard Version
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The Big Idea
When you feel like all of life is an uphill battle, take courage. This psalm is marked "a song of ascents." Smarter people than I disagree on this, so I'm giving you the approach that seems to fit best: As I tell my students, you can disagree with me and still get an A in my course. A song of ascents was one of the psalms that God's people sung on their way to Jerusalem, and Jerusalem is uphill. That's why, regardless of map direcetion, people go up to Jerusalem, and down to most anywhere else.

This uphill journey was fraught with troubles and terrors. Consider this--the journey was on foot (usually), uphill, and there were robbers and thugs along the way. The roads into Jerusalem were known for that, so well known that it's part of the setup in the parable of the good Samaritan.

When your life takes you uphill through scary, dangerous terrain, remember where your help comes from. Now, as then, it comes from the Lord.


Meditation
Worship takes place even on the way to worship. The God who made the terrain watches over you. The God who never sleeps or slumbers is watching over you. The God who protects you from sun and moon (threats by day and threats by night) is the one who keeps you.

This weekend, think about the uphill parts of your life. Look at those imposing hills, and the threats you cannot completely discern. Then remember to trust yourself to God. Use this psalm as a reminder that He is the one-and-only source of help.


Praying With This Psalm
You can pray scripture prayers for yourself or for others.

• Father God, when _________ looks up at the hills of their life, may they remember that you are the source of their help.  
  
• May ______ thank you, Father, that you created heaven and earth. None of the terrain of ________'s life is a surprise to you. Thank you for being our creator and protector. 
  
• Oh, God Most High, you reached out to us while we were outsiders. May ______ turn to you and no longer be an outsider. 
• You protect your people from "the sun by day and the moon by night." May _______ know that your protection is all-encompassing. 

Related Scriptures and Scripture Prayers

• Philippians 4:6-7. Promise of Protection...
  Lord, it is so easy to be anxious, so easy to fear. May _____ worship you in prayer and supplication. Let _____ experience your peace--the only peace that goes well beyond our understanding. 
• James 1:11. The sun will scorch us...
  In the scorching heat of day-to-day life, we all wither away. May ______ seek you: Father, you are the only pursuit that will never cause us to fade away.
• 2 Timothy 1:12. I know Jesus Christ, and I believe.
  Father God, in the words of the old hymn, taken right from your Word: "For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him, against that day." I pray that ______ will commit their life to you, through Jesus Christ, confident that you will protect--you have already guarded it with your life!

Note: When I decided to work through the Psalms, I chose an old church pattern so that I could have a usable pattern without going in order. Little did I realize how God would emphasize the theme of redemption and protection in this first batch of 5 Psalms. Let's see, together, what other truths God might have in mind for us.

(Some Rights Reserved, CC-BY-NC, 2009). L. J. Sam Helgerson, PhD