Day 11 - Confidence in God

Well good morning and happy Saturday.

Hopefully you are off to a slow, great start to your weekend.

And we're excited to be back again this morning as we are continuing our journey to Easter and looking at the devotions uh each and every morning, Monday through Saturday.

I would like to just make a note that if you listen to yesterday's devotion, um that there was a devotion that was written by Wendy Alleygood, who's one of our Church of the Grove family members, and she is currently fighting cancer, and I know that several of you guys reached out to me and asked if I had cancer.

They did not that that was something that you were unaware of, um, and I do not have cancer.

Um, I was just reading her post.

And so uh please continue to be praying for her.

She actually just finished uh her last and final chemo and radiation treatment, and they'll do a new scan in the near weeks, and we'll find out kind of where she's at.

So continue to be please be praying for Wendy Ollie Good.

But this morning um we're turning our attention to Psalm chapter 121, and we're looking at our confidence in God.

Psalms 121 · chapter mention

It says this I look up to the mountains.

Does my help come from there?

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

He will not let you stumble.

The one who watches over you will not slumber.

Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

The Lord watches over you, the Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.

The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.

The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.

The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

Before we had kids, we would go on road trips to Nashville, Savannah, Charleston, and DC.

These were great trips, and even the car rides were fun.

Depending on the season, we might roll down the windows, pop in a CD, yes, that was several years ago, and sing to the latest popular song or an old classic.

Sometimes we downloaded a book on Audible and listened to a funny memoir together driving down the road.

These drives and trips are great memories and were a whole lot of fun.

Psalm 121 was the road trip music of the Old Testament.

It might not seem as catchy as Sweet Home Alabama or Don't Stop Believing, but this psalm would have brought great comfort to the Israelite pilgrims as they made their way to the temple in Jerusalem.

Psalm 121 is a psalm of ascent, meaning it was sung on the way up.

Jerusalem is a relatively elevated place in relation to the valleys that surround it.

The four or five-day journey was often difficult and dangerous, and this psalm reminded God's people of an important truth.

His presence with and protection over his people is constant and unfailing.

From reading the New Testament, we know that this trip would have been completed by Jesus and his family on multiple occasions.

And as Jesus grew older and began his ministry, he made this track annually with his disciples.

I cannot help but wonder about the final journey that Jesus made from Galilee to Jerusalem.

Jesus had already created quite a stir with the religious leaders of his day, and they wanted him executed.

Jesus' disciples even urged him not to go to Jerusalem because they knew what fate awaited him.

Jesus was not unaware of the evil plot to take his life.

In fact, he willingly made the journey because it was all part of the Father's eternal plan.

As he walked across the rocky, mountainous terrain with his disciples and the crowd that followed him, these words from Psalm 121 would have rung out.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.

The Lord will keep you from all evil.

He will keep your life.

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

As Jesus marched towards his death, he was not worried or afraid, but rather he turned his eyes to his Father, to be his ever present help in his time of need.

Psalm 46.

Jesus knew that in a few short hours he would walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but he feared no evil, for the Lord was with him.

The truth of this Psalm would have brought great comfort to Jesus on his journey, but it also provides hope to those of us who are followers of Jesus today.

We too are on our own ascent.

We have been redeemed out of sin through Christ, and now we are being conformed to his likeness day after day as we continue on this difficult and dangerous journey of life that will ultimately lead us up to heaven and eternal worship of our God.

As we walk through the mountainous terrain of today, let us be reminded to find our help from the Lord, the Maker of the heavens and earth.

So today we're asking and challenging you to write down your own personal interpretation of Psalm 121.

Acknowledge where your help comes from.

Think about the times in the past that the Lord has helped you, and write down a prayer of thanksgiving to him.

And so, Father, we pray this morning, saying, Father, I acknowledge that far too often I try to find help from other sources other than you.

But Lord, help me to lift my eyes not to the hills, but to you.

Holy Spirit, help me to be dependent upon you to give me exactly what I need when I need it.

We thank you so much for joining us today, and we pray that you have a fantastic Saturday.

Stay warm in this cold weather, but have a great Saturday, and we can't wait to see you tomorrow morning at church at the Grove.

And please remember that tonight is time change Sunday, and so please set your clocks forward one hour.

Um, and so go to bed early so that you can arrive at church on time tomorrow.

We love you guys, and we'll see you in the morning.