God who helps me (Psalms 121)

God who helps me

 

 

 

[Psalms 121]

 

 

 

 

Once, during a gathering of Westminster Theological Seminary alumni, I had the opportunity to have a meal with a missionary couple serving in China, along with their four children. As the children were all boys, while the missionary pastor was interacting with them, his wife shared a unique aspect of her mission work in China.  She explained, showing us pictures, that she took an interest in reaching out to women engaged in the profession of prostitution.  The pastor would travel by bus for about ten hours and then walk for two more hours to teach in a remote valley where foreigners were a rare sight.  The people there showed genuine affection, and upon witnessing this, the pastor confessed that he, in fact, received grace from them.  After a brief period of engaging in mission work, when the pastor's wife made a prayer request for us, she expressed her desire to become a channel of blessings, stating that she wanted to be a source of support, especially for pastors and their spouses in pioneering churches.  In contrast to many missionary reports that often end with requests for financial support, this missionary couple expressed a desire to assist us, stating that they wanted to be a channel of blessings, particularly for pastors and their spouses in pioneering churches.  Although they were the ones in need of help, witnessing their desire to extend help filled me with the conviction that a heart of love and dedication to the Lord is truly precious and beautiful.  Even in such precious and beautiful attitudes, there are times when we occasionally or frequently find ourselves in need of assistance.  In those times, where should we turn to seek help?

 

In Psalms 121:1-2, the psalmist confesses, "I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."  Here, the "mountains" symbolize powerful forces in the world (Park).  The psalmist initially seeks help from these great worldly powers, but ultimately realizes that only God is his Savior and Helper (Park).  When we are in desperate need of help, who are we looking to and asking for assistance?  Are we, like the psalmist, seeking help from people, things, or anything other than God, wondering where our help will come from?  We have a sinful inclination to not rely entirely on God for help until we thoroughly recognize our own helplessness.  Therefore, we often find ourselves seeking help from the "mountains" created by Him, rather than turning to the God who created heaven and earth.  In the end, we may become discouraged and despair, realizing that we cannot truly find the help we need from these worldly "mountains".  However, ultimately, through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are led to look to the all-powerful Creator God, even the One who created those mountains, and seek His help.  As a result, after receiving God's help, we confess, like the psalmist, "My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."

 

So, what is today's passage telling us about how the God who provides my help is assisting you and me?

 

First, God who helps us does not allow our foot to slip.

 

Look at Psalms 121:3 – “He will not allow your foot to slip; …”  This means that God, who helps us, will not allow us to derail from the truth (Park Yun-sun).  What precious grace and blessings is this?  We are the weak ones who have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way (Isa. 53:6).  But the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus doesn’t allow us to derail from the path of truth, what a blessing or grace is this?  I am curious about the reasons for the derailment of Korean youths.  The results of the questionnaire survey on the delinquent behavior of 431 middle school and junior high school students (224 males and 207 females) in the Seoul Metropolitan Government were analyzed.  The results showed that the main cause of the delinquent behavior of the male students showed 'anxiety and negative emotion' and female students showed 'distorted perception of herself'.  When I was reading the results of this survey, I thought about the causes whey we Christians, who believe in Jesus the Truth and who are following Him, derail from the truth.  I think one of the causes is a negative attitude toward the suffering of the righteous.  The reason I think this way is that the psalmist Asaph's feet came close to stumbling because of the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous (Ps. 73). 

 

What do you think?  Do you think that the negative attitude of the suffering of the righteous is one of the reasons why we derail from the truth?  If you think "yes," what do you think we should do to have a positive attitude toward suffering?  I find the answer in Philippians 1:29 – “For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”  If we know and be thankful that it is God's grace that we suffer for Jesus Christ, we will not derail from the truth.  Let’s pray for this.  Let’s pray that God will give us grace so that we may know that suffering for Christ’s sake is God’s grace and blessing and that we will not derail from the truth.  When we pray in this way, let’s pray by believing in the fact that God will not allow our foot to slip (Ps. 121:3).

Second, God who helps us keeps us.

 

How does God keep us?

 

(1)    God keeps us will neither slumber nor sleep.

 

Look at Psalms 121:3b-4: “…  He who keeps you will not slumber.  Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.”  Several years ago, my son was afraid of sleeping because he had nightmares.  So, I encouraged him to read the Bible and pray to God.  No matter how much we love my son, I cannot keep my hand on my son’s head and pray for him all night for him to have good sleep.  How can I protect my son without sleeping?  However, the Bible clearly states that our Heavenly Father doesn’t slumber and sleep and keeps us.  But what is the problem?  I think the problem is when our prayers are not answered and when God's help is delayed, we sometimes think that God is sleeping.  But in reality, God is not sleeping.  Our God is helping us who are in trouble, in His appointed time.  Therefore, we must learn to be patient.  God, who is our shade on our right hand, protects us and prevents us from harmful things (vv. 5-6).  Look at Psalms 121:5-6: “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.”.

 

(2)    God is our shade and keeps us from harmful things.

 

Look at Psalms 121:5-6: “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.”  When I was meditating on the God’s word, “The LORD is your shade on your right hand” (v. 5), this thought came into mind: ‘If the sunlight continues to shine on me in the desert, what will happen to me?  But the Bible says God is my shade and I am comforted by this truth.’  During the summer when the sun is so hot, we tend to look for the shadow.  So when we find a big tree, we go under the big tree because there is big shadow.  Likewise, there is a time when we would like to go to him in the shadow of our Father in heaven, when we are exhausted by these and other things in this world.  When we are living in the desert-like world, we are comforted by the truth that God is our shade and protects us from harmful things of this world.  Also God, who is our shield, protects us from all dangers in this world as we are heading toward Heaven.  Therefore, we can confess, as David did in Psalms 23:4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

 

Third and last, God who helps us protects us from all evil.

Look at Psalms 121:7 – “The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.”  God, who helps us, keeps us from falling and protects us from all danger, protects us from all evil.  Isn’t it interesting that even though God protects us, we have to go through the danger of "all evil"?  It is because our thought is when God who made heaven and earth protects us, then there shouldn’t be no danger of getting harm by any evil.  But the Bible says, there is all evil and God protects us and delivers us from all evil.  Although God allows us to go through various kinds of tribulations, He will surely protect us and keep us.  Here, I think even though God doesn’t allow us to derail from the truth, He allows us to go through tribulations because He wants to discipline us and bless us. 

 

I remember the words of Hosea 2:14 in which God disciplined the Israelites by leading them into the wilderness but the blessing was that God spoke to their heart gently.  This is the blessing of discipline and suffering.  The difficulties and adversities in our lives, and all kinds of tribulation, are the blessings of God.  Although it is difficult and painful at the time, it is the blessing of God that He doesn’t allow us to derail from the truth, but deepens our faith in Him.  Furthermore, it is a good opportunity to experience the grace of salvation as we cry out to God in prayer and God answers it with His salvation.  Therefore, we can praise God: “Faith of our fathers! living still In spite of dungeon, fire and sword; O how our hearts beat high with joy Whene'er we hear God's glorious Word: Faith of our fathers, holy faith! We will be true to Thee till death” (Hymn “Faith of Our Fathers”, verse 1).

 

 When I feel helpless, I love to sing the hymn “Take Me as I Am.”  This hymn was written by Scottish Eliza H. Hamilton and composed by a well-known pastor named D. Sankey.  Pastor Ira D. Sanky recalled in the ‘Story of the Gospel Song of Sankey’, published after his blindness (Internet): “Years ago, while revival meetings were being held in one of the large towns in Scotland, a young girl became anxious about her spiritual condition.  Returning from one of the meetings, she went to her own minister and asked him how she might be saved.  Ah, lassie, he said, don’t be alarmed! Just read your Bible and say your prayers, and you will be all right.  But the poor, illiterate girl cried out: ‘O Minister, I canna read, I canna pray!  Lord Jesus, take me as I am!’  So the girl prayed like this: ‘Lord Jesus Take me as I am!’  In this way the girl became a follower of Christ; and a lady who heard of the girl’s experience wrote this hymn.”  “A minister in England writes to me about a Christian woman, a shoemaker’s wife, who had a lodger that was an obstinate unbeliever.  The good woman often tried to induce him to go to meetings, but in vain. Tracts which she placed on the table in his room she found crushed on the floor.  She would smooth them out and again place them so as to attract his attention, but he would read nothing but his novels and newspapers.  One spring the old man fell ill with bronchitis.  The good woman acted as his nurse, for he had no relatives who cared for him. She used the opportunity, often speaking to him about his soul and reading the Word of God; but she could make no impression upon him.  One day she was reading the hymn Jesus, my Lord, to Thee I cry, and when she came to the refrain, the old man called out to her sharply: That’s not in the book! The woman answered, Why yes, it is.  He declared again that he did not believe it was in the book.  The good woman told him that he could read it for himself. He asked for his glasses, and read with wonder and amazement, again and again, My only plea — Christ died for me! oh, take me as I am.  A few weeks afterward he said to the woman one morning, I am going home to-day, and I am so happy, so happy!  In an hour or two he passed away, repeating those words to the last” (Internet).

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I seek the Lord’s help,

 

 

 

 

 

James Kim

(With thanksgiving heart because the Lord is protecting us without slumber and sleeping)