Perseverance #3—Guarded on the Upward Way

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence shall my help come? My help is from the Eternal, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; he who keeps you will not slumber … The Eternal will protect you from all evil; he will keep your soul … from this time forth and forever. Psalm 121:1–8

This “psalm of ascent” was sung by pilgrims on their way up to worship on the temple mount. The journey was long and arduous; the hills of Israel were not easy to traverse. So the question easily arose, “How shall we make it up those hills to worship in the presence of the Lord?” As we trudge through the valley of the shadow of death and clamber up the mountains of modernity on our way to worship in the Lord’s presence, we ask the same question, and receive the same answer: We cannot make it on our own, but we don’t need to worry. For our God seeks those who will truly and passionately worship him. Therefore he watches over us constantly and carefully. He never slumbers. While we wait on the Lord, he works for us and strengthens our resolve. He becomes the traction plates on the soles of our souls. No evil will knock us off the mountain path. For we trust in God Almighty, who is God of the living not the dead. No evil people or circumstance can tear us from his grasp as we press on toward the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus.

Eternal Father, thank you for the strength this promise gives to my weary legs. Cause me to remember with joy the reality of your ever watchful & protecting presence. Amen.