He’s with You in Your Uphill Battles
Psalm 121 has become very meaningful to me. I found Psalm 121 in my mother’s Bible. My mom passed this year and I really miss her, but the Good Shepherd has been close and brought comfort to me and my family. In the past 6 months since I found this Psalm that was so dear to my mom, four different times it has been brought back to me.
I went for prayer at my church, and one of the ladies praying for me, said she had a scripture for me that had come to her mind-it was Psalm 121. My husband and I went to see a movie and this psalm was quoted in the movie. In June, I went on a missions trip to Uganda and a friend left me a card with scriptures on it, and yes, there it was again Psalm 121. While in Uganda, I got to share the messages on hope from this blog. After I shared, I asked the believers present to gather in small groups for prayer, and I also joined a group. One of the men in our group suggested we pray for the person to our right. When my turn came, the person next to me said, “I don’t have a prayer for you. I have a scripture.” And, yup, there it was again, he gave me Psalm 121!
In July, my husband and I went on a silent retreat to the North Georgia mountains for a time of prayer, scripture meditation, and reading. While there, it dawned on me that since God brought this psalm to me so many times, maybe I ought to study it! You think? …sometimes I am a little slow. I even wondered if God might be sitting up in heaven saying, “Well, it took four times, but she finally got the message!” He’s such a patient and loving Father. So I want to share what I learned as I studied this psalm.
This psalm is part of a group of psalms, Psalms 120-134 that were written as a “Song of Ascents”. Scholars have different theories on when these songs were sung, but many commentaries agree that one of the times they were sung was as the Israelite worshippers traveled up the high hills of Jerusalem to the Temple for the three pilgrim festivals. This reminds me of times in our Christian walk, when we feel like we are in an uphill battle, yet we proceed with hope in our hearts, knowing Jesus is calling us higher, knowing He wants us closer.
ASCENTS H4608 means “elevation, that is the act (literally a journey to a higher place), a climactic progression, degree, go up, step, ascent.” This is so true of our walk with Christ, as He is always drawing us higher; He is always drawing us closer to Him. I have often looked back after going through a difficult time, and felt that I have grown so much closer to God through the struggles. The journey may be hard, and walking up hill takes more effort. In fact, we might even complain as we struggle to make it up the hill; we might even have to stop along the way to rest and recover our strength, our will to continue. But when we make it to the top, to where He leads us, we can look back and see He has brought us to a better place.
My husband and I recently went to Banff, Alberta, Canada in the middle of the Canadian Rockies. We had the opportunity to go up to one of the mountain tops in a Gondola. What a view! The Gondola made it easy to get to the top, but there was also a winding path that you could walk up, and some folks did walk to the top. It would take a lot of effort to walk to the top, but the view was absolutely breathtaking and would be well worth the effort!
Can I encourage you today, not to give up? Can I encourage you that there are times in our Christian walk, when we feel like we are going uphill? PLEASE KEEP GOING. I want to reassure you with this verse Psalm 9:9-10 New American Standard Bible:
The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;
And those who know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
He is our STRONGHOLD in times of trouble. Stronghold H4869 means “high place, refuge, secure height, retreat, stronghold, cliff or lofty inaccessible place, altitude.” He lifts us up ON HIGH when trouble surrounds us. Recently there have been a lot of floods from tornados and hurricanes. The devastation has been terrible-please pray for those who have been affected. When the waters of the floods surround us, where do we want to be? We want to be up on HIGH. That is where God takes us when we are in times of trouble. He takes us up ON HIGH. Who else is on high- He is! As this verse states, He will not forsake us in times of trouble. Though He might seem far away-He isn’t. Hang onto His promise, that He is there with you, because He has said He will never forsake you, if you seek Him.
So moms,
BE COMFORTED THAT AS YOU JOURNEY THROUGH HARD UPHILL BATTLES, GOD IS THER WITH YOU!
In His Love,
Suzanne
Mom Morsels 