The God Who Keeps You | Frank DiRenzo | Calvary Church

I'd love for us to get our Bibles out

and turn to Psalm 121. If you're using

the Bibles in the seat back in front of

you, that's on page 424.

Uh, and we're going to start in verse

one.

I lift 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 Son

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 forever more. Would

you join me in praying this morning?

Lord, I just pray that you would speak

through your word this morning to each

and every one of us. God, for every

person who's in this room today or

online or in Quaker Town, Lord, I just

pray whatever they may be carrying,

Lord, whatever might be heavy to them,

Lord, that you would show us that

through your word that you are not

distant, God, that you are not

distracted and you are not asleep when

we are in trouble. God, help us see that

you, our help truly comes from you,

Lord. You are our maker, our keeper, and

most importantly, Lord, you are our

savior. So God, use your word this

morning to encourage our hearts. Lord,

allow us to see how we can grow closer

to you and trust you more. We pray this

in your name. Amen. So Psalm 121 is

called the song of asense. So three

times a year, God's people would make

this awesome journey up to Jerusalem for

these big religious festivals. Like

these are amazing religious festivals,

and this is the journey they're taking.

But Jerusalem sits on this really high

hill. So everyone who would go on that

journey would have to make this

ginormous climb on foot. Sometimes

entire families going 90 miles to get to

Jerusalem. That was a pretty big hike.

So what did they do as they walked? They

had a lot of time. So they sang

together. See, the psalms include 15

songs of ascent, almost like a roadtrip

playlist that God's people would sing as

they journeyed up to Jerusalem. And

where this psalm sits is actually

really, really cool. Because if you read

Psalm 121, the one right before Psalm

120 um 121 is all about someone who's

going through a really hard thing, in

danger, stuck in a hard place, crying

out for God for help. Then Psalm 122

right after is the celebration and joy

of arriving in Jerusalem, this exciting

moment. So where is Psalm 121? It's

right in the middle of that journey. And

many of you, maybe that's where you're

at today. Maybe you've taken a step, but

the situation that you're facing is not

resolved. Or maybe you've prayed, but

you're still waiting to see how God's

going to work out whatever you're going

through. Or maybe you walked away from

something that was really hard, and

you're not sure what's going to come

next. See, that's exactly where the

psalm begins, right in the middle of the

journey. So, as we look back to verse

one, it asks this really important

question that I think many of us ask. It

says, "I lift my eyes to the mountains.

Where does my help come from?" When you

and I think of mountains, what do you

think? You think of vacation. You think

of a quiet place, a beautiful view, a

great getaway. Well, I'll tell you, the

people who were writing this psalm did

not see it the same way, per se, because

it was actually an intimidating journey

to get to the top of a mountain. See,

the mountains were super risky and

dangerous to travel. And not only that,

but some of these hills and mountains

were covered in shrines, altars to other

gods, and high places of those

mountains. So when someone was

traveling, they could be honestly asking

these two questions. Number one, how am

I going to get up this ginormous

mountain? And secondly, as they see

those shrines, saying, "Is that where my

help comes from? Where all these other

people go and run to to worship these

other gods?" See, we all ask these

questions when life gets heavy. All of

our eyes look somewhere when we need

help,

right? Our circumstances might be

different than the people in Psalm 121,

but I believe the question is the same.

We've all asked this question, where

does my help come from? And then we

looked to verse two. What does it do? It

gives us the answer. It says this, "My

help comes from the Lord, the maker of

heaven and earth." Do you know what I

love about this verse? His help doesn't

come from the mountains. It doesn't come

from the, you know, the gods that

everyone else is worshiping during this

time. His help comes from the one who

created the mountains. See, because when

your help comes from something that's

created, it can run out. Think about

this. Money runs out, people let us

down, plans change, and our own strength

will eventually fail. But God does not

run out. See, the maker of heaven and

earth is not limited by what you can

see, what we can plan, and what we can

control. And notice what this psalm

does. It doesn't tell the person

traveling to have a better attitude or

do these three things. What does it say

that? What does it tell him to do? to

look to the Lord. That's the first step.

Why is that the truth? Because we don't

have to carry what God has promised to

keep. Now, as we look to verse three and

four, we're going to see a ver, you

know, a word start to repeat over and

over again. It's a few different phrases

in your Bible. It's watches over, keeps

or keeps watch. But see, in Hebrew, it's

actually only one word. It's shamar. You

might say, "What does shamar mean?"

Shamar means to guard, to protect, to

watch over. It's almost like something

like you, it's something really precious

to you. You want to guard it and keep it

safe. That's what this Hebrew word

means. And what I love about this word,

it's not passive. It's not God is simply

aware what's going on in your life,

right? Or he's paying attention. It

means he's actively watching over you.

God is right there in your journey.

Whatever you're holding, God is right

there beside you. That's what this

Hebrew word is trying to convey. And the

writer in this uh in this passage here,

you know, uses it six times in eight

verses, right? When something's

repeated, we want to take attention to

it. But I think it's almost like the

psalm writer was saying to himself and

reminding him that God is watching over

me, that God has not forgotten me, and

God will not let go of me. See, in verse

three, it shows us what does it look

like for God to care for us when we're

on the journey, on the road. In verse

three, it says this, "He will not let

your foot slip. He who watches over you

will not slumber. See, on a road that

you're traveling that might be

dangerous, one loose rock or, you know,

one wrong step could really change

everything. And this verse is not

promising us that the road is going to

be easy or you're not going to feel

unsteady on the road that you're

traveling. See, the promise is is that

God will not stop watching over you on

your journey. See, you may not always

know where the next step may lead in

your life, but you can know that you're

never going to be outside of God's care

for you. Your safety is not necessarily

found in how tightly you can control

everything, but that God is watching

over you no matter what you may face.

See, this matters a lot because most of

life is not a finish line. Most of life

is taking that next step, right? It's

getting up, making the call, forgiving

again, trusting God, showing up one more

time. See, God is not only the God of

the mountaintop or the deepest valley.

God is there with us every step in

between. Every day of every moment of

every second, God is with us. So, how do

we walk out every one of those steps?

Right? In verse four, it says this,

"Indeed, he who watches over Israel will

neither slumber nor sleep." Honestly,

when I read this, this is one of the

most comforting verses maybe in the

entire Bible. Why? Because God doesn't

sleep. Which is great news because you

and I, we have to go to sleep every

night. Every night, God lets you

practice not being in control, right?

You lie down, you close your eyes, and

for several hours, you're completely

useless to the world around you. And

guess what? The universe keeps on going,

right? It's a good reminder. We were

never built to carry everything. You

were never built to carry everything in

this world. But God has a watch and care

over all of it. God never gets tired.

He's never distracted. He never misses a

detail. God will never look away. God is

on it. He's got it. And while you sleep,

God is still at watch.

Right? So, let me ask you this honest

question. What are you trying to keep

that might be keeping you from rest

today? Because Psalm 121 is not trying

to tell you to care less. It's not

saying, you know, you shouldn't do this

or that, but it's inviting you to trust

God more. It means stop trying to

control the things that only God can

control. See, you can love and care for

your family without acting like you're

the savior. You can work hard without

acting like everything depends on you.

And you can be responsible without

trying to control everything that

happens next because you don't have to

carry what God has promised to keep.

See, in verse 5 here, it gives us

another picture of God. And I think it's

one of my favorites. In verse 5, it says

this, "The Lord watches over you. The

Lord is your shade at your right hand."

Why are we talking about shade? Is that

kind of weird? Right? But you have to

think, someone during that time would

need more than just directions for where

they're going. They actually needed

protection. If you think about during

that time, one of the things that would

be really hard traveling on a road and

their biggest enemy was probably the

daytime sun. Think there's no sunscreen,

no AC, no shade for miles and miles and

miles of their journey. Could you

imagine how hot it is? The heat could

literally actually kill you. That's why

shade was survival to them. And don't

miss where God is in this verse. It's

really interesting, right? The Lord

doesn't watch over you from heaven or

check on you from a distance. What does

it say? The Lord is your shade at your

right hand,

right next to you? And that matters

because so many of us believe God is

powerful. But sometimes we wonder, is

God close to me? Is God near to me? And

Psalm 121 is saying, "Yes, the same God

who made heaven and earth, made

everything around you is a shade of your

right hand. The God who made it all is

right beside you. And there's nothing

too big for him to care about. That

might feel small to everybody else. He

cares about the things that we care

about. And he cares about our lives."

Now, here's something I have to be

honest about. Sometimes God doesn't

change the road, but sometimes he gives

you the shade to keep walking through

it. Me and my wife Joanna experienced

this for ourselves a few years ago

during the pandemic. Uh we were renting

this townhouse and suddenly the owner

decided to sell the house. Uh and we had

to find a place to live. So we made

offers, we applied to rentals and one

after one door closed over and over and

over again for us. And then we reached

the final week before we had to move

out. All of our belongings were put into

a storage unit. We had a move out date

and we still did not have a place to

live. See, we were praying, but

honestly, a lot of ourselves were

carrying a lot of it. We were asking,

who can we call? Who can we what what

could we offer? Where else could we look

for a place to go? See, our prayer

slowly changed from God, we trust you to

God, where are you? God, don't you see

the things that we're carrying? Then

that Sunday came. That was the last day

we had until we had to move out and our

last possibility unfortunately fell

through other than, you know, going to

stay with friends for a couple days. We

had no plan. So, we stopped scrambling

long enough to go to church that morning

before we had to move out. And this was

the church we served at before coming to

here at Calvary. And before the service

began, Joanna forgot her phone. So, she

ran out to the car to go grab it just in

case someone would call. On the way back

in, an elder stopped her and was talking

about the situation that we were going

through with our housing. And this

random couple nearby overheard what we

were talking about. And they stopped her

on the way back in and said, "Hey, sorry

we overheard what you were talking

about. We weren't trying to be nosy, but

we think we might have a solution for

you." Like, "Oh, okay." Uh, they said,

"Some of our friends are living in

Switzerland for this next year, and

we're watching their house, and we want

to know, would you be willing to stay

there?" Okay. So it was 3 minutes away

from the church, but they barely knew

us. They hardly knew I worked there. So

after church, they drove us 3 minutes

down the road and showed us this house.

Now, this wasn't just like a normal

house, right? We roll up to this house,

and it literally looked like a mansion,

45,000 ft, an ingground pool, threecar

garage. It was I mean, crazy. A house

I'll never get to live in in my lifetime

other than this moment, right? It was

incredible. And they looked to us and

said, "Would this work?" We said, "Would

this work?" Of course. Yes. Yes, this

would work. We love this. Joanna always

says, "I woke up praying for a safe and

clean bed that morning, and God gave us

a mansion." See, we lived there for 10

months um during this journey, and this

is the part that still gets me. While we

were still at that house, God began

making it very clear to us that he was

calling us somewhere new. And a few

months later, the phone rang right

around December, and it was Calvary. So

the same road with no house and no

answers and no clear path was the same

road that God used us to bring us here.

See at that time every closed door to

both me and Joanna felt like God wasn't

helping us that he wasn't listening to

us. Looking back we can see that he was

actually keeping us available and free

to go where he has called us to go. See

while we were panicking God was already

preparing a place 3 minutes down from

the church I served at. See, God wasn't

confused. He wasn't forgetting us. He

actually was keeping us in ways that we

couldn't necessarily see on our own. And

over the last four years, we've watched

God transform the lives of our students

here at Calvary. We've seen more than a

hundred students accept Jesus in the

last four years. Isn't that amazing,

right? God is at God is moving, right?

It's so cool. And we find it such a

privilege to be here. But can I be

really honest with you?

We could not see that when we were

standing there with all of our

belongings in a storage unit having no

place to live. No clue where God would

bring us. See, God didn't remove the

hard road the moment we asked him to

remove the hard road. But he kept us

while we were walking through it. And

you may have experienced that as well in

your life. God didn't immediately heal

your sickness or remove the uh question

that you've had or repaired the

relationship or the challenge you're

facing today, but somehow God has kept

you through it. And see, real faith

isn't pretending that the road of life

is going to be easy, but it's trusting

that God's going to be beside beside

you, providing the shade you need to

help you keep walking through it.

See in verse 6 and 8 uh God talks about

not just providing shade for the journey

but something really really important.

It says this. 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 forever more. So you kind of

hear this phrase you're coming and

going. You're like what does that mean?

Right? It's basically a Hebrew way of

saying your whole life. The big moments,

the small moments, the ordinary moments,

everything in between is under God's

care. And we need to be honest though

about one phrase that really trips

people up when they read this passage.

They read, "The Lord will keep you from

all harm." And some of you might be

sitting there today going, "Well, why

didn't he keep us from all harm? Why did

my marriage still end? Why did the

cancer come back? Why did the person I

beg God to save still?"

See, this psalm is not necessarily

asking us to pretend that didn't hurt.

Those are important questions for us to

ask. But the promise of this psalm is

much deeper than that. The promise is

that nothing painful will ever have the

power to separate you from God's love,

from his care of your life, and have the

final word over your life. Those hard

things don't have the final word.

Because the truth is pain might be hard

but it does not mean that God has left

you. See suffering doesn't mean that God

has forgotten you or has abandoning you.

And death doesn't get the final word in

any of our lives. See that's why this

psalm could end with both now and

forever more. God is going to keep you

through whatever you're facing. And he's

going to keep you most importantly for

all of eternity in heaven with him. So

we can be honest as followers of Jesus

about our pain. We don't have to make it

up and act like it's not hard because

grief is real, suffering is real, and

death is real. We all will experience

that in some time in our lifetime. But

because of Jesus, those things are not

final. We don't have to let them be.

Psalm 121 ends with this promise. The

Lord will watch over your coming and

going both now and forever more. See,

that word forever more raises a really

important question that I think we all

need to ponder and think about because

the truth is we all haven't always

wanted God to lead us. You know, we've

some of us have chosen our own way.

We've trusted our own wisdom. Maybe

we've looked to money and control,

success, or other people for the things

that we needed truly to come from God.

So, how can broken people who are

sinful, who make mistakes belong to God?

The answer is Jesus. See, we can

remember and see those pilgrims, you

know, in this passage climbing towards

Jerusalem, right? They're singing, "My

help comes from the Lord, but they

trusted a God they couldn't personally

see." But then Jesus came, right? He

came in human form, and God drew near to

us. And we saw exactly who Jesus was and

who God was. And hundreds of years,

Jesus would walk towards this hill, not

because he needed our help, but because

he came to help us. And that hill he was

on was Calvary, right? And on that hill,

Jesus carried for what you and I could

never carry on our own. He carried our

sin. You might say, "What is sin?"

Right? Sin basically means to miss the

mark. It's anything we think, say, or do

that goes against what God wants for our

lives. See, we've all messed up. We are

we're all sinful. None of us in this

room are perfect human beings.

And you might know that. You've seen

that. But see what Jesus did on that

cross is he took the sin upon himself

and he died in our place for our

punishment. And three days later though

he did not stay dead. He rose again. And

because of what he did for us on the

cross, we can have we can be forgiven

and have a relationship with him that

lasts for all of eternity. That is the

gospel and that is the good news. Jesus

did for us what we could never do for

ourselves. See, the gospel is not try

harder, be a better person, you know,

learn how to carry everything with a

better attitude.

Jesus made a way for us to be forgiven.

All we have to do is believe, right? And

we have this eternal life when we have

this relationship with God because death

could not hold Jesus. Death is not going

to have the final word over any one of

us who believe and trust in him. We can

have that assurance that we know where

we'll go when we pass away from this

earth. We get to spend eternity with him

forever. See, that's why Psalm 121 can

save forever more and mean it. God's

care does not run out for any one of us.

Not in suffering, not in grief, and not

even in death. So, the question isn't,

do you simply believe in God? The

question is, have you placed your faith

and trust in Jesus alone? Because that's

ultimately what each one of us has to do

because you were never meant to save

yourself. Jesus came to save you.

So, what do we do with all this? I want

to be careful here because, see, we can

sometimes have a list of things we can

do, and we can easily put the weight

back on our shoulders. Psalm 121 isn't

about becoming strong enough to hold

everything together. It's about coming

to God who's already holding you, who

wants to invite you in. So, don't hear

what I'm going to say as homework or

things to do or or X, Y, or Z. This is

simply what it looks like to live as if

the gospel is true. So number one is to

tell God what you're carrying. Serious

hikers will do something called a

shakedown. Basically they'll they'll

take their backpack and they'll pass it

to someone else and they'll empty out

anything that they don't need for the

journey. And sometimes we need to do

that with our relationship with God. We

need to be honestly naming what is

weighing us down. What is holding us

down from our relationship with him and

living the life that he wants us to

live. And maybe for you it could be

something in your back would be

something you're trying to control.

something that you're holding on to like

I I have to control this. I can't give

this to God. Or maybe it's something

painful in your life that you can't

change. Or maybe it's a deep concern for

someone you love and care about. Or

maybe for you, it's a sin you keep

returning to even though you want to be

set free from it. Or maybe it's shame

over something that you have done to

someone or has been done to you. Or

maybe it's something so new or hard or

painful you don't know how to put it

into words yet.

Whatever it may be, I want you to think

this week, I want you to do this. I want

you to get alone with God and tell him

the truth. God, this is what I'm afraid

of. This is what I'm trying to control.

This is what I've been carrying. God,

come help me because I want you to know

this. Nothing in your bag is going to

surprise God. He knows exactly what is

in here. And you're not coming to him.

So, he finally accepts you through

Jesus. You've already been accepted.

you've already been forgiven, right? The

gospel doesn't say fix yourself. Clean

out your bag and then come to me. No, it

says come to me and trust God with the

things that you were never meant to

carry. The first step is surrendering to

him. So figure out what are those things

that you need to surrender. Number two

is to take the step and not the whole

road. See, one of the hardest hikes I

ever did as a Cub Scout was a 15mile

hike. All right, it was quite the

journey. I was like in elementary

school. It was a lot of hiking. But

here's a surprise. They didn't tell us

ahead of time how far we were going.

Wasn't that nice? Very nice of them. Do

you know why they said? Because we

wouldn't have done the hike if they

would have told us. And they're exactly

right. But I could not think of walking

15 miles when I was the first mile in.

But I took my next step and my next step

and my next step and eventually we made

it to 15 miles. See, sometimes the road

feels too heavy because you're trying to

walk it out all in your mind at once.

You're trying to get multiple steps

ahead of yourselves. But I want to

remind you of this. This encouraged me

this week is God doesn't always give us

a map. He doesn't always tell us where

we're going to be in 5 to 10 years. But

God does give us enough grace to take

the next step. See, verse three is not

promising that you're always going to

know what's going to come ahead of you.

The promise is that he's not going to

let your foot slip. We can trust him as

our Lord and Savior to to allow us to be

safe during that journey. So, what is

your next step in trusting in Jesus?

Maybe you already know the step you have

to take. You feel like you feel very

called by God to take this step, but you

just need to do it. Maybe that's for you

this week. Or for others, it might be

saying or telling someone, "Man, I'm not

okay. I need some help." Maybe that's

the next step you need to take. Or maybe

it's bringing to light something you've

been hiding and that you've been trying

to deal with on your own that you didn't

want to tell anybody else about. Maybe

it's a moment to invite someone into

that. So, you don't need enough strength

for the entire road today. You only need

to trust God with the next step that you

need to take. Number three is to look up

daily. Here is the honest truth. You may

put down weight today and surrender to

God and want to pick it back up just a

few days later. And that's not because

you're a failure or you may, you know,

you don't know what you're doing. It's

because as followers of Jesus, sometimes

we forget. We forget that God is it with

us. That God is in control of all things

and that we don't have to carry our

things alone. That's why this psalm

begins with I lift my eyes. Right? Your

attention is going to keep drifting back

towards the problem or the fear or the

thing you can't control. So what do we

need to do each day? We need to turn our

eyes and our attention back to God. You

know, in the morning when you wake up,

you know, maybe before you reach for

your phone or do whatever you're going

to do, maybe you need to pray and

say,"Lord, my help comes from you. You

made the heaven and earth. Watch over me

today." Remind yourself of that. Or

maybe you're at night, you're laying

down in your bed, and you're just

sitting there, right? Maybe pray and say

to God, "Lord, I'm going to sleep

because you never do. Whatever I

couldn't finish today, fix, or control,

God is in your hands." See, you're not

doing this to convince God he cares

about you. God already cares about you.

You don't need to ask him to do that.

You're reminding your heart of what's

true. So, what are we going to do? We're

going to name what we're carrying. We're

going to trust God with the next step.

And we're going to keep looking to him.

So, when I walked out this morning, I

was carrying a backpack. And we've been

talking about the things we've been

carrying and God has promised to keep.

In a few moments, we're going to take

this rock back out and we're going to

have an opportunity for you to respond.

But before we talk about that and what

you're carrying, we're going to talk

about the most important question we can

talk about all morning, which is this.

Do you know the God who keeps you? See,

because maybe today is the first time

you heard the good news that Jesus died

for you, that he rose again and he

offers you forgiveness and new life. Or

maybe you've heard it your entire life.

You grew up in this in this church, but

you've never fully surrendered your life

to him.

I'm going to encourage you this morning

to do it. Take that next step because I

want you to know this. If you're

considering this next step, I want you

to know these things is that you don't

have to clean yourself up before you

come to Jesus. You don't need to do any

of those things. You don't need to

understand everything about the church

or the Bible or who Jesus is to trust

him. You don't have to have every

question answered and be an expert on

everything.

You just have to come to Jesus honestly

and surrender your life and trust what

he has done for you. So today, if you're

ready to turn yourself from living your

own way and your own life to turning and

living to him and surrendering them to

him, I would encourage you to take that

step. It's one of the most important

steps you can take in your entire life

and will change your eternity forever.

So I want to invite you if you're

interested in taking this next step

right now. I'm just going to pray uh

right now. If you want to pray along

with me quietly in your heart to God,

it's just a conversation with God. But

we're going to quick pray here. And if

you want to take that step, pray this in

your heart with me as we pray. So God, I

know I have sinned and gone my own way.

I know I can't save myself,

but I believe that Jesus died for my sin

and rose again.

Today I turn from my way and place my

trust in you, Jesus.

God, forgive me, make me new, and help

me follow you every day of my life.

Thank you for promising to keep me

forever. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. If

you prayed to God today and admitted

those things, that's the most important

step you can take because now you're a

part of God's forever family. It is so

exciting to trust in Jesus. It's

honestly I I can't, you know, I remember

a life before Jesus and knowing Jesus

has changed my eternity forever and is

so amazing. We would love for you to

come speak to one of us. We'll have a

prayer tent up or a prayer flag up here.

We would love to talk to you after

service to just pray with you, celebrate

with you, and most importantly, help you

take your next step with Jesus.

Sometimes we need help on our journey,

and we'd love to help you walk you

through that. And whether you've trusted

Jesus for your entire life for your

first time today, I want you to know

this. The invitation is the same. We

want you to keep coming to him. See, the

same Jesus that carried your sin is the

same Jesus who invites you to bring your

fear, to bring your grief, and

everything you can't control. Jesus put

it this way uh in Matthew 11:28. He says

Matthew 11:28

this, "Come to me all who are weary and

burdened, and I will give them rest."

See, what I love about this verse, it's

not a commandment to try harder or do

better. It's an invitation to draw near

to the God who loves you and cares about

you. I want you to think about the rock

that you had, right? You have it in your

hand, maybe. Um, what does it represent

for you? What thing have you been

carrying? What have you been holding on

to that maybe you haven't placed into

God's care?

For every one of us, it's going to be

something different. I'm going to invite

the band to come up and they're going to

play one last song. And during the song,

uh, there's boxes up here in the front

of the stage as you can see in Seron and

also in Quakertown. And then in the

balcony by the doors, there's some

baskets there as well. If you're ready

this morning as an act of surrender to

hand over whatever that has been that

you've been holding on to to the Lord, I

want you to come bring it up and drop it

right in. Leave it here and walk away

trusting that God is keeping it. He's

keeping you and he has it covered.

If you're ready this morning, if you're

not ready this morning, it's completely

okay. I don't want you to feel the

pressure to come forward because other

people are. I want you to take this rock

home with you and when you're ready, set

it down somewhere and let it be a

reminder to you that God is inviting you

to bring to him what you are carrying.

So, as we worship, I want you to

remember these things that you can sleep

because God doesn't sleep. that you can

take the next step because you're not

walking alone. God is always with you.

And you can loosen your grip on whatever

you're holding on to because his grip

will never loosen. You don't have to

carry what God has promised to keep. So

this morning, bring to him the things

that you're carrying. Would you join me

in praying?

Lord, we thank you, Lord, that you never

sleep, that you never look away, God,

that you are always watching over each

and every one of us. God, you know what

every person in this room is carrying

today. God, you know the fear, the

grief, the pressure, maybe the questions

they may have or the things that we've

been trying to control. So God, I just

pray right now that we would be honest

with you as we hold these rocks in our

hand. Lord, bring to mind what it

represents for us. What have we been

carrying that we need to place into your

care? For some of us, it might be

something we've held on to the last few

days, few weeks, or few months. For For

some of us, it might have been many

years that we've held on to this thing.

God, I just pray you would give us the

courage to loosen our grip, to fully

surrender it to you as we worship. Lord,

I just pray we'd come to you honestly,

not because we have it all figured out

or every situation has changed right

now, but because we trust who you are,

Lord, that you are our savior and you're

going to keep us through whatever comes

next in our life and our journey. God, I

pray as we bring these rocks forward,

it'd be more than just this moment, but

it' be a true surrendering of these

things to you. a way of saying that God,

we can't do this alone anymore

and we're placing this in your hands.

God, remind us that we can take the next

step because we never do it alone. Lord,

we want to bring to you this morning

what we're carrying. We love you, Lord,

and thank you for all that you do for

us. We pray this in your name. Amen.