Which way is up?

(Lara Cook)

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.  Psalms 121:1-8

The Psalmist asks the question … “Where does my help come from?” And in the same breath he answers his own question … “my help comes from the Lord.”

We tend to look in every direction but up when trouble comes our way.  We try to solve our problems with our bank account or other personal resources.  We may ask friends or family members for help or seek counseling from professionals.  It is so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of chaos that we don’t know which way is up!

God is there ready to help when we finally get around to asking Him.  He is there all the while we are searching for help in all the wrong places.  God watches over our going to bed and our getting out of bed.  He knows the very word that is on the tip of our tongues about to spill out of our mouths.  And He understands His children! His watchfulness over your life and mine causes Him to hedge us in from the front and the back.  In other words, His hand is upon me to guide me; to bring me into His stronghold.  And like so many of us parents, I believe He is grieved when His children will not heed His guidance.  He loves us too much to take his eyes off of us.  God is watching us!

This blessing is one of my favorite passages of scripture.  I often say this to my son as I tuck him in at night, and even though he is not a little child, he still finds this comforting.  What could be more assuring than to know that God never turns his face from you?  He never falls asleep or looks away.  How often do we as parents sleep never knowing what our children are doing?  God never quits watching our every step.  Like the parent who walks before and behind the toddler to catch them as they stumble, so is God in our lives to guard over us. 

The stronghold of God's watchfulness should bring comfort, assurance and honesty into our relationship with Him.  The Psalmist associates God's watchful guard with "He who keeps you."  Keep: to protect, attend to, to retain in one's control.  Jesus prayed that the Father would keep us from the evil one. (John 17:15)  His eyes are upon us to keep and protect us from the evil one who comes to steal, kill and destroy us. 

Find the stronghold of God's watchful protection in your day of attack and rest in it.  God is watching us!

Scripture to Claim:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Psalms 46:1