My Help Comes From The Lord

I look up to the mountains —

does my help come from there?

My help comes from the LORD,

who made heaven and earth!

He will not let you stumble;

the one who watches over you will not slumber.

Indeed, he who watches over Israel

never slumbers or sleeps. Psalm 121:1-4

AS THE PEOPLE OF GOD made their way from the plains in Judea up the hill to Jerusalem for feasts and festivals, they sang the songs of ascent, including Psalm 121. They looked ahead to the heights they had to climb and wondered how they would have the strength for them. It’s a question they all asked and answered out loud together as they made their way upward. The Lord they were on their way to meet at the Temple would be their help. He could see the unseen pitfalls ahead and wouldn’t let them stumble. He would never cease his careful watching over them.

Sometimes the road of launching a child into adulthood seems like a very steep hill. We wonder if we will have the strength for the long haul. We can answer our own question the way the pilgrims did. We can remind ourselves that the one who created the world we live in and the child we love is committed to helping us all along the lengthy journey. He knows the potential pitfalls and places where we could go wrong, and he will keep us on the right path. He will never become bored with or uncaring about the concerns we pour out in prayer. He will never be asleep at the wheel when it comes to sovereignly overseeing our lives and the lives of our children.

Lord, I recognize my need to cultivate confidence in your promised help as we make this long journey of raising and preparing our children for adulthood. Sometimes it seems like we just won’t make it all the way. So we are in need of your help. Keep us from stumbling and falling away from you. Keep watch over us in the details of the day and the anxieties of the night. Watch over our coming and going both now and forever.