Welcome to Weekly Topic Saturdays!
Hello all, I pray that your week was filled with joy and love. Welcome back to those who have been with me here at A Golden Dream. For my first-timers, a great big hello there, if you haven't already please check out my previous posts when you get a chance.
Please don't hesitate to join the conversation, there are no right or wrong answers or questions. I'm not proclaiming to know everything, I am simply just discussing and picking topics on things that I personally have gone through and that I know would help someone.
By the title alone, how many of you are familiar with or have heard this scripture before. If not it's totally okay! Let me know in the comment section below! We are constantly learning new things every day. The scripture I'm referring to is Psalms 121.
In times like these where Covid-19 numbers are increasing, people are panicking, dying, the racial injustice, The Black Lives Matter Movement, the millions of people that have lost their jobs, money is drying up, and the government is in shambles. Many do not know what to do. Where would you turn to? Where does your help come from? What feeds you to go on, and face another day? Who helps you when there's no one around and times are tough? So I ask again, where does your help come from?
I will lift up my eyes to the hills
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.
Psalm 121
One thing that I have always loved about this scripture is that it tells us a couple of things if you pull it out bit by bit.
The First Thing, is the direction of where we should look, and where should we look?
The HILLS!
Second, it tells us when we look to the hills, that’s where our help comes from. The reason why we should always look up is that God sits on the throne in Heaven HIGH above us. If we are steadily looking around in our mess, then we become tainted in worldly filth. Most of the time, we ourselves, create our own hardships through the decisions and choices we make. We can confide in others all day long, but it is only to a certain extent. Other people can only help but so much because unlike God they aren’t omnipotent, they aren’t omniscient, and they aren’t omnipresent. Only our heavenly father, our maker, our creator, and our provider can see our beginning and our end. Only he knows what our true purpose is.
Third, Then from there, it exclaims that the help that you receive from the hills originates from the Lord. God wants us to get to know him and through getting to know him we develop a close-knit relationship with him. Everything comes through him.
Here’s An Example:
You would not look to a Nurse to perform open-heart surgery, you would instead seek medical attention from a Certified Cardiothoracic Surgeon who is trained to operate on the heart. God is the ONLY one who is qualified, certified, licensed, equipped, competent, AND prepared to help us in any of our circumstances.
God is sovereign and all good things come from above. So look in that direction. Up!
Look To The Hills + Your Help= The Lord
Men will faint from fear and anxiety over what is coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken
Luke 21:26
This is something that really resonates with what is currently going on in today’s society. The coronavirus pandemic has left a lot of families struggling, panicking, and worried about where their next meal is going to come from or how they are going to pay bills. There are many who are scared and anxious because of the uncertainty in the nation. This is the time where we should choose a direction. Are we going to look to others to fix this or are we going to look up to the hills at God? He knows the outcome.
The remaining scriptures talk about the goodness and promises of God to his people. See What He Says:
He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Psalm 121:3
What does this mean?
This tells me that the Lord keeps the feet of his people from falling, that I shall not be moved in any way shape, or fashion. That my feet are grounded in a spiritual tie that cannot be moved. Whew!
Then it says, “He who keeps you will not slumber”
Who is he? ...God!
And what does he not do? ...Sleep!
Everything in this world sleeps. People, Animals, Insects, anything that was created on this earth sleeps, but God, who is the source of our health and strength never sleeps. God does not get weary or tired, unlike man (people). He watches over us to protect us and keeps us from any harm or danger. The very next verse says what God is. A Keeper!
He keeps the lost sheep.
He covers the innocent.
He heals the broken.
He keeps you close.
-Sherronda
God is our keeper by:
Preserving Us
Guiding Us
Keeping Our Feet From Failing Us
He Watches ALL (Omniscient)
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
Psalm 121:5
What does a shade provide?... Covering!
God is the provider in whatever you lack in. Food, Money, Faith, Hope. Protection. He is your covering when you are exposed. He will protect you and wash away your sin.
I recall Isaiah 25:4:
You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall
God is our shade of protection and security
and that is who I rest underneath.
-Sherronda
Lastly,
The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.
Psalm 121:7-8
This part of the scripture really just sums up everything. It is saying that God will preserve us. With sickness and disease running rampant, God promises to cover us.
Preserve means to maintain (something) in its original or existing state.
We are often unaware of the close calls we may run into on a daily basis. Those moments where we are driving and we don’t see a car coming but we see it just in time to avoid an accident. So when God says we are blessed coming in and going out, he means it. We go out into the world not ever knowing if we will walk back into our homes again. This promise he says is granted now and forevermore.
Questions To Consider:
1. Where does your help come from?
2. Does your help come from materialistic desires?
3. How can I apply Psalm 121 to my life?
4. What does the word “keep” mean to you? when we say God “keeps” His people?
5. Do you feel secure in knowing that God is your protector and needs no help from YOU?
6. With everything that is happening in the world today, Does this passage ease any anxieties that you had before?
With Love, It is important to remember that God does not want to see us suffer, or to see us in need of anything. In fact, he wants nothing more than for us to live prosperous lives. With times being the way that they are right now we must always look to the hills from whence cometh our help. You should know that, with God, you have finally met someone who wants nothing from you. God is God ALL by himself. He doesn’t need any help. So when you are faced with uncertainty, fear, anxiety, hurt, hopelessness, depression, brokenness, sorrow, and lack of money, don’t settle in it. You should assume the position of prayer, redirect your faith, and find the direction of your help, which is a source that leads to God. Keep your head up and stay positive. Remember that the situation, the trouble, or the circumstances that you are in are only temporary and things will get better with time.
~Just Breathe...A Golden Dream~
Amen.