READ Psalm 120–124
In a farming community we had a neighbor whose wife was physically much larger than he was. Some of the other neighbors used to affectionately tease them that she was his “heat in the winter and shade in the summer.” I thought of them when reading this passage today:
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; 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 shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 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. (Psalm 121:1–8)
As loving and protective as this wife may have been toward her husband, she serves as only a small example of God’s care for his family. Sometimes that care is outward and visible as He removes problems and answers pleas for relief. Sometimes His care is inward as He gives His people the ability to stand strong even in the challenges of life. What is the greater victory — having the rocks removed from the river? Or having the water made deeper than the threats it contains? Either way, my help comes from the Lord and I rejoice!
I also want God’s people to focus on this marvel. Sometimes the problems seem too much and the prayers are only for their removal rather than that deeper water that enables joy in sorrow and praise in pain. For that reason, when I read these verses, I thought that Jerusalem could be a reference to the people of God more than this specific city. It speaks to inner security, inner peace, even that “peace that surpasses all understanding” written about in the NT:
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” For my brothers and companions’ sake I will say, “Peace be within you!” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. (Psalm 122:6–9)
That does not mean ignoring the struggles of others and asking God for only one kind of answer to their situation. When someone is hungry, I should feed them, not expect them to have a fasting mentality and bear with it. When someone has lost their job or a loved one or is ill, I should pray for a new job, for comfort, for healing — as well as the sense of God’s presence and His peace as they struggle in their situation. The NT has many appeals to His children to do good, such as . . .
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:9–10)
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:8)
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. (Ephesians 4:28)
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. (1 Thessalonians 5:15)
This does not mean trying to meet every need. Proverbs 3:27 qualifies it with: “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.”
Right now, people we know are taking in singles, couples, even large families that are refugees from persecution or have fled the war in the Ukraine. Some are giving goods and finances for their support and to meet physical needs. Prayers go up. Help is given regarding employment and for education needs as well as the emotional support for trauma experiences and spiritual support for the devastation in their souls.
This is one segment of the needy world we live in. It can be overwhelming until I think about the enormity of God. Yet He asks me only to do what He enables me to do and knows how to take care of the rest.
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