Psalm 121
Preaching
A Journey Through the Psalms: Reflections for Worried Hearts and Troubled Times
Preaching the Psalms Cycles A, B, C
There is perhaps no better feeling than knowing that someone "has your back." Having someone's back is a term that arose from urban street fighting where a partner or ally would stay with you and protect your back in the thick of the fray. When someone has your back, you don't worry about being hit from behind. When someone has your back you can concentrate on the struggle in front of you without worrying about dangers you cannot see. When someone has your back you feel protected, secure, safe.
In God, the psalmist finds the king of all street fighters to have his back. His help doesn't merely come from a trusted compadre, it comes from the creator of the universe! "My help (emphasis on the word, "my") comes from the Lord!" The wonderful implication here is that the adversary can bring on all comers. God's on the scene. God's in charge now. No matter what comes, it can be handled.
The trick in all this, though, is trust.
Whether it's a buddy from the "hood," or the Lord God, letting someone come to your defense means you have to trust the source of the help. Think about it. Not trusting someone who has your back is pretty much the same as having two adversaries. So it is that these words come with a simple surety. Trust runs through the psalm like a drum keeping silent time. No doubt here. No wavering or wondering in this proclamation. God won't allow my foot to be moved even an inch. God doesn't slumber or sleep. God is on the job.
It would be an easy thing here to go the smoke and magic mirrors route, assuming that trusting in God is equivalent to some kind of insurance policy. It's the old quid pro quo. If I believe in God then thus and such will or won't take place. Not so. Life and death continue to flow forward bringing everything with it. Earthquakes, fires, wars, and disease will not take a holiday because of trust in God. What will evaporate, however, is the fear with which we confront life's challenges. What will come is a confidence and sense of power that emanates from the sure feeling that God's got your back. In truth, can it get any better than that?
In God, the psalmist finds the king of all street fighters to have his back. His help doesn't merely come from a trusted compadre, it comes from the creator of the universe! "My help (emphasis on the word, "my") comes from the Lord!" The wonderful implication here is that the adversary can bring on all comers. God's on the scene. God's in charge now. No matter what comes, it can be handled.
The trick in all this, though, is trust.
Whether it's a buddy from the "hood," or the Lord God, letting someone come to your defense means you have to trust the source of the help. Think about it. Not trusting someone who has your back is pretty much the same as having two adversaries. So it is that these words come with a simple surety. Trust runs through the psalm like a drum keeping silent time. No doubt here. No wavering or wondering in this proclamation. God won't allow my foot to be moved even an inch. God doesn't slumber or sleep. God is on the job.
It would be an easy thing here to go the smoke and magic mirrors route, assuming that trusting in God is equivalent to some kind of insurance policy. It's the old quid pro quo. If I believe in God then thus and such will or won't take place. Not so. Life and death continue to flow forward bringing everything with it. Earthquakes, fires, wars, and disease will not take a holiday because of trust in God. What will evaporate, however, is the fear with which we confront life's challenges. What will come is a confidence and sense of power that emanates from the sure feeling that God's got your back. In truth, can it get any better than that?
