Protected, Kept, Guarded Forever

As we look at our last verses in our study, we remember that SIX times in this psalm the same word for WATCHMAN is used ( v.3, v.4, v. 5, v. 7 x 2, v. 8). God wants us to know without a doubt that He is our WATCHMAN. We see “watchman” three of those times in Psalm 121:7-8 New American Standard Bible (I italized the words for “watchman”):

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.

I am going to admit that I really wrestled with this verse. That word evil H7451 means, “evil, adversity, affliction, calamity.” Will God really protect us from all evil? It depends on our perspective. If we look at this verse from a human perspective, then, No, He will not, but if we look at this verse from God’s perspective, then, Yes, He will. You see, God has given us some promises, and we know that He will keep them. We know that God is just and He will not allow any evil to go unpunished (2 Thessalonians 1:6-8). We know that in the end God will right every wrong done to us, and in that way, God is protecting us from all evil (read Revelation for some insight on this point).

God has not deceived us. He has already told us that we will have difficulties here on earth, that evil will touch us. We read in Psalm 34: 19 NASB:

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.

When God makes a promise, to Him it is already done (1 Corinthians 1:20). So although we face afflications in our life here on earth, we know that God has an eternal plan to deliver us from every evil that we have faced. In our eyes, that deliverance is in the future, but in God’s eyes, that deliverance is already accomplished, because Jesus already paid the price for it on the cross. So though we are touched by evil while here in our earthly bodies, that evil will be wiped away for all eternity when we are in our heavenly bodies. God will even use the evil that has touched us for our good, as we see in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NASB:

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

From His perspective, God calls our afflictions here light, but they do not always feel light to me! Yet, according to this verse, that light affliction also accomplishes a purpose. It produces an eternal weight of glory for us! I want that, don’t you? And that glory is far beyond all comparison. God knows that something good is coming for us, if we just wait on Him, if we just trust in Him, and He will work everything out in the end.

And GOD IS WITH US in our trials, as we face the evil in the world, promising that He will KEEP OUR SOUL (v.7). Keep is that word for Watchman. He guards our soul. Our bodies will fade away, but our souls, spirits, and very life are eternal. God is more interested in our eternal destiny than in our earthly comfort.

As we travel through this journey called life, God watches over us as we come and go. The last few verses of Psalm 121 are the conclusion of this psalm. God promises us the He will be our WATCHMEN both now and forever. What a promise! To have the God of the universe watching over us, guarding us, keeping our soul NOW AND FOREVER is such a comfort.

So moms, remember that

GOD IS YOUR WATCHMAN, GUARDING AND KEEPING YOUR SOUL BOTH NOW AND FOREVER.

In His Love,

Suzanne

Your Shade on Your Right Hand

We learn more about God, our Watchman, in Psalm 121:5-6 New American Standard Bible:

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.

Again, we are reminded that God is our KEEPER. And He doesn’t just give you shade on your right hand. He IS your shade on your right hand. When you’re in the scorching hot sun, the shade is near you, and if you are fully in the shade, it is actually on you. This shows us how NEAR God is to us. God is so near to you, and He refreshes you with His NEARNESS.

As God is your shade on your right hand, you are under His shadow. We read in Psalm 91:1 New International Version:

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

To dwell in God’s shelter is to obey His Word and to walk with Him. As you dwell in His shelter, He provides REST in His shadow. Rest H3885 means “to stay, abide, dwell, lodge, remain, tarry”. Dwelling is staying in His presence, living in it. Rest doesn’t necessarily mean we are not busy. Mom’s are always busy! Rest means that in the midst of our business, we can ABIDE in His presence, close to Him, knowing that He is always working on our behalf, always good, because GOD IS GOOD.

Your right hand symbolizes your working hand. We all have work to do. As you do your work as unto the Lord, He sees you. He sees your right attitude. He sees your service. He sees how you lay your life, your time, your energy down for your family. Moms work a lot! …at home, at work, always “on call.” God will REFRESH you with His presence, moms, as you faithfully serve your family, as He Himself is your shade.

Your right hand also symbolizes your hand of intercession. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us (Romans 8:34). As you intercede for others, He will be close to you, because He is the well of living water inside you (John 7:38), REVIVING you as you serve Him interceding, praying. You can intercede for others as God brings them to mind, in the midst of your business.

As you journey through this life, God will keep you from the dangers of travel. Whether you realize it or not, we travel a lot during our lives. If you have a fitbit or apple watch, in fact, you can know exactly how many steps you travel each day, and Google maps can tell you how many miles you travel in a year and exactly where you have been (it’s kind of creepy, actually!). As you journey through this life, you will face dangers now and then. God is your KEEPER and He will be with you. He will not forsake you.

Because God Himself is your shade, the light from the fierce hot sun will not hurt you. Just as the shade protects you from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun, so God PROTECTS you. God sent the cloud to shield the Israelites as they traveled through the wilderness. Have you ever been at the beach and you are sweating profusely in the blazing sun? Then someone comes with an umbrella, and you feel so much better after you are under it. In His shade, you are sheltered, protected.

The night has its dangers as well. At night the dangerous animals come out, and the wicked can use the cover of darkness to hide their evil deeds. When the Israelites traveled through the wilderness at night, God sent a pillar of fire to protect and lead them. Animals won’t come near fire. Fire also keeps you from the danger of the stark cold temperatures at night. God didn’t let the moon smite the Isrealites, as He protected them with the light and warmth from the pillar of fire, and He will not let the night smite you either. He is your KEEPER.

So moms, be comforted today that

AS YOU JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE, GOD IS YOUR SHADE TO REFRESH YOU WITH HIS NEARNESS AND HIS PRESENCE.

In His Love,

Suzanne

Look Up

God has brought Psalm 121 to me several times over the last six months, also bringing deeper understanding along the way. At the end of this six months, my husband and I ended up in Banff, Alberta, Canada in the midst of the Canadian Rockies. The picture above is from our trip. Mountains were surrounding us everywhere on every side and we could not help but look around at them; we could not help but LOOK UP.

The first two verses of Psalm 121 encourage us to LOOK UP. Psalm 121:1-2 New American Standard Bible says:

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.

In verse 1, the psalmist is making a choice to lift his eyes up. He says “I will” which indicates a definite choice that he is making. Yes, it is our choice where our eyes look. We can choose to look at our circumstances or we can choose to look up. We live in a broken, sin-filled, hard and difficult world. I don’t know about you, but when I choose to look at my circumstances, it often makes me feel discouraged. If I choose to look up, to focus on Jesus, to lift my eyes to Him instead, it always encourages me.

Jesus is our example. He went through some very difficult trials including torture and death on the cross in order to save us, but Jesus was looking beyond His present trials. Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB says (italics mine):

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We are instructed to FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS. I always cheer up when I fix my eyes on Him. When I set my eyes on encumbrances and sin, I am taking my eyes off Him. Jesus focused on the “joy set before Him” in order to endure the cross. What joy was it that He set His eyes on? It was the joy of sitting at the right hand of the Father- the joy of being right next to the Father again. Likewise, when we fix our eyes on Jesus, we can endure the trials that we go through while living in this imperfect place called earth. If we trust in Jesus as our savior, we too have the joy of knowing we will live in HIS PRESENCE with Him in heaven throughout eternity.

So it really matters where we focus our eyes! Where we focus our eyes, will indicate where our help comes from. In verse 2 of Psalm 121, we are reminded that OUR HELP COMES FROM THE LORD. So I find that if I am looking at my circumstances, my trials around me, I am trying to fix things myself. I am then relying on my own way to figure things out, rather than looking to God for His solutions or even just for His presence to comfort me. When we choose to look at God instead of circumstances, Psalm 42:5b NASB reminds us:

Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.

Yes, our hope is in God and we have the GREAT HELP of HIS PRESENCE whenever we need it. And why do we look to God for help? The psalmist tells us it’s because God is the Creator of heaven and earth. Do we really need any other reason? Sometimes when we ask for help, we forget who God is. We forget that He spoke the world into existence with HIS WORD. Recently my husband and I visited the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum in Kentucky. This visit reminded us even more of just what a wonderful and utterly magnificent Creator we have!

So moms, when you are in the midst of your trials, don’t forget to

LOOK UP TO GOD FOR YOUR HELP, FOR HE’S THE CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH!

In His Love,

Suzanne

Telling Your Soul to Hope in God

In our day and age, if you are seen talking to yourself, someone might think something is wrong with you. But the Bible actually teaches us that we should TALK TO OURSELVES! Sometimes our soul needs to be encouraged and we are the best ones to do it. It’s biblical to talk to yourself!

When you are down (noticed I said “when” not “if” because everyone feels down at times!), the Psalms are a great place to go for encouragement. The Psalms are basically statements reminding us why we should hope in God. And we also see the psalmists talking directly to themselves a lot! Telling themselves to hope in God. Many times David himself told his soul to hope in God as in Psalms 62:5-6 New American Standard Bible:

My soul, wait in silence for God alone,
For my hope is from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
My refuge; I will not be shaken.

Yes, he’s talking to his own soul. David did not try to hide his emotions, negative or positive, but he was very open with God as to exactly how he felt about his circumstances. He often described feeling discouraged, down, distraught, angry, forgotten by God. He brought his emotions to God and was honest with himself and with God.

Three times in the Psalms the following verse is found and repeated almost verbatim ( in Psalm 42: 5, 11; 43:5). When God says the same thing three times, I think He wants us to listen. Here we see in Psalms 42:5 NASB::

Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.

Despair H7817 means “to bow, cast down, despair, sink or depress, bend or bow down, be low, stoop.” Doesn’t that just describe so well, how you feel when you’re in despair? It feels as if there is a weight on you, pushing you down, or like you are sinking/ drowning under the weight of your circumstances. But we don’t have to feel that way! God wants us to encourage ourselves to hope in Him. And Disturbed H1993 here means “to make a loud sound, be in great commotion or tumult, to moan, clamor, cry aloud, rage, roar, be troubled, be in an uproar.” Again, such a good description of how we feel when trials are all around us. We feel as if we want to scream, like everything is in commotion, warring at us, tumultuous like in a raging storm. But we don’t have to keep feeling that way either! We can make a choice to speak to ourselves and tell ourselves to hope in God (Note: sometimes we need help with this and seeing a counselor helps!).

David had a lot of things go wrong in his life. God had promised he would be king but it took a long time and he was persecuted even by his own family before he was actually made king. Then after he finally became king, his own son Absolom turned against him. Later his own people wanted to stone him! In 1 Samuel 30:6 NASB we see:

Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

Sometimes when no-one around us is encouraging us, we need to encourage ourselves. We need to strengthen ourselves and tell ourselves to HOPE IN GOD.

So mom’s don’t forget to

TALK TO YOURSELF AND TELL YOURSELF TO HOPE IN GOD!

In His Love,

Suzanne