“I look up to the
mountains—
does my help come from there?
My
help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!”
(Psalm 121:1-2)
When
this Psalm was written and throughout much of Israel’s history, most
mountaintops help a shrine to Baal or some other pagan god. Only Jerusalem,
Mount Zion, held a temple to the one true God. So when the psalmist asks the
rhetorical question “Does my help come from the mountains?” He is asking “Is it
the Baals who will provide my help?” His answer is a resounding “No! My help
come from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!”
Where
do you look for your help and your hope? Do you hope that your wealth will
sustain you? Do you hope that your possessions bring you satisfaction? Do you
hope that your fortifications, security systems, provisions, and guns will keep
you and your family safe in the face of apocalypse? Do you hope that a
political party or a political activist group will provide you with a better
future?
Any
of these can provide a transient, fragile sense of hope. Any of them require
more and more to provide a continuing sense of hope. None of these “mountains”
can provide a lasting sense of hope. The only hope today, as in the days of
Israel, is in the Lord who made heaven and earth. He is our provider and
protector, sustainer and savior, keeper and King.
IronMaker’s Daily Challenge: Observe
how often you turn to the things of this world to provide for your future
today. Find one small thing you are holding on to for hope and give it up to
trust in God.
Prayer: Give
me the courage Lord, to trust in you in all things.
Bob Peden
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