November 15
Ezekiel 37-38
Psalm 121
Proverbs 27:15-16
James 4:13-17
Help
“I lift my eyes to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. He will not let your foot slip—He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber not sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121 NIV
I think this is my favorite chapter in the whole Bible. Whenever I am stressed and anxious or when I am feeling helpless, I turn to this passage. I have to remind myself that God is the source of my help. When I turn to other people for help, they often disappoint. When I rely on my own resources and strength, their limitations become quickly apparent. Any earthly source I turn to cannot ultimately be sufficient to help me in every situation. But there is a source that is available to me that is always faithful and always sufficient to meet every need I will ever face. My God made all of Heaven and Earth. He set it all in motion and He keeps it all going. And even better than that, He watches over me! He never sleeps. He never needs to take a break. He is always by my side helping me. He watches over my life. He watches over my coming and going now and forever. Sometimes it does not feel like He is here with me, and I feel alone. Sometimes I feel like things are out of control and that He will let me down. That’s why it is so important that I fill my mind with the knowledge that He is watching over me. Feelings are not reliable. But my God is reliable. Even when I do not understand what is happening to me, I can be confident that He is watching over me. I can trust Him.
Verse 5 says that the Lord is my shade. This is a beautiful word picture to me. I am so fair skinned, and I sunburn very easily. The sun is not my friend. At the beach, I sit under an umbrella most of the time. Whenever I am outside, I am looking for shade. I have learned over the years that sunburns hurt and then itch and make me miserable. They can also be deadly. Twenty years ago, I had a melanoma. Thankfully, it was detected early and removed before it spread. I believe that the Lord was watching over me when I ran into a friend at Walmart who told me she had just been diagnosed with skin cancer. I had not been to the dermatologist in years, and this prompted me to go get a checkup. When I think of God being my shade, the image that comes into my mind is the huge walnut tree in the front yard at my Mama Mae’s house when I was growing up. My cousins and I spent hours playing under that tree protected from the sun without a care in the world. The memories of those days bring a smile to my face. I felt safe and secure. I’m sure there were things going on that I didn’t know about. Financial struggles, troublesome world events, illnesses, deaths, etc. were probably happening that I knew nothing about because my parents shielded me from them. I didn’t need to worry because they were taking care of me. As an adult, I am more aware of the issues in the world around me, but I can rest in the shade of God’s protection because He is watching over me.
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