We all have times in our lives when we are not enough. We need help. Our pride tells us otherwise. Society tells us that we have everything we need in ourselves. We are told to look in the mirror, to tell ourselves “I Am Enough”, and to go out and conquer.
So what happens when we realize the truth? We are limited. We don’t have an unlimited source of strength. Our knowledge is incomplete. We cannot will finances into existence (as much as we wish we could). We can’t make people do what we want them to do (and if we could, isn’t that simply manipulative?) Do we give up hope? Am I my own best help?
I’ll be honest with you – it gives me such peace to know that I am not enough. What a hopeless place I would be in if all I could do was try to work up enough in myself to be “enough.” I am not enough. And I am so grateful for that knowledge. Why? Because I know someone who IS enough. And that someone has promised to be enough for you too, if you turn to Him and trust Him. Let me introduce you to the One I have found to be enough for me.
Psalm 121 – My Help Comes From The Lord
Psalm 121 is precious to me. It’s a psalm that the Lord has used in my life in so many sweet ways that remind me of His constant presence and care, how He knows me intimately and is always there when I need Him. He is my Great Helper, the One I can always turn to, who is never too busy for me, who is by my side with His power, His wisdom, and His compassion. Do you know Him as your Helper? Read through Psalm 121 with me – let’s get to know the One who is always watching over you, keeping you, and protecting you.
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Psalm 121 ESV
Study With Me
I walk you though a deep study of Psalm 121 in Call to Worship: An Introduction to Studying Psalms, and I encourage you to check that out! One thing I always encourage you to do when you study a psalm is to notice every reference to the Lord. Go verse by verse, using the words directly from the passage, and see what the Lord tells you about Himself. Be careful not to overthink this! It’s right there, right in front of you. So take a moment – what do you see in Psalm 121? Have a piece of paper handy? Go ahead – write it out!
Got it? Yeah, you probably rewrote almost the whole psalm! Nothing wrong with that! Now let me walk you through a few highlights –
The Lord Is The Maker of Heaven and Earth
You could spend ages thinking through the depth of this truth! Why do you think you need to be enough when the One who Created all things offers to be your Help? What can He not do? What can possibly overpower the One who brought everything into existence? The more you contemplate your Creator’s power, wisdom, kindness, splendor, the less you need to rely on yourself. He is ENOUGH -more than enough – for anything you are going through. Words fail me to try to explain all this – get to know Him more in Songs of Our Creator. Trust me – you will find He is all that you need!
The Lord Is A Solid Rock
When your world is shaking, He is a solid rock. He is unchanging – and that means that He is reliable. The more you get to know Him, the more you will trust Him. What He has always been, He always will be.
This is the heart of the poetic phrase “He will not let your foot be moved.” What ground are you walking on? What is your foundation?
Are you trusting in human wisdom – wisdom that changes with the season, wisdom that shifts according to the winds of what’s popular? How about your finances – in this ever-changing economy where money is proving to be no more reliable than the paper it is printed on, or the banks that keep track of the numbers in your account? Are you trusting in the government? Yeah, enough said on that. How about your health? You can take all the supplements, walk all the steps, and eat all the right things, but there is no guarantee that you will never grow weak.
Our God is a guarantee. His promises are absolutely sure. He cannot lie, and He cannot compromise His own character. When you get to know Him and understand His ways, you will find that you have a security that you will not find anywhere else. He’ll shift your perspective, He’ll realign your priorities, and He’ll restore your purpose. As you grow in faith, you’ll find He is everything you have been looking for and more.
The Lord’s Help Is Always Available
Everyone I know is always so busy. There is so much to do in this life, so many responsibilities and opportunities that our planners are filled to the brim. I have a dear friend whom I love, and we have discovered that unless we get a lunch date on the calendar we will go months without seeing each other except in passing! Hours spent working, serving in church, eating, and sleeping add up. Busy is the best description of our lives.
And yet God is always working – but never busy. He is available any time of the day or night. When I start to forget that truth, it is as if He reminds me “How small do you think I am, that I am too busy for you?” We are limited – but He is not. You can never interrupt Him. My friend – get this truth deep into your soul – you cannot possibly “bother” Him. He is for you, with you, available always. He is available NOW.
The Lord Is My Great Protector
Ever dive for cover when caught in a downpour? Or found the shade of a tree when the sun is beating down on you? Locked your door at night – and double checked to make sure it was secure? Ever consider how even those small acts show our neediness? Our lack of ability to protect ourselves?
Allow your imagination to drift with the imagery of Psalm 121. When life gets hot, where do you take your shelter? When you can’t see where you are going, how do you know when to step, where to step, or when to pause? Do you know the dangers that are coming tomorrow?
This world is a mess – and we all know it. Anxiety is common, and we all handle it in so many different ways. We are desperate to try to be in control, and yet we know all our efforts run the risk of failure. We know that control is just an illusion.
How do we move forward knowing that this world is a dangerous place? It’s simple – yet requires faith. God is in control. It’s one of my catch-phrases, and sounds cliche, but for me it is a solid truth – God’s got this. I don’t have this. You don’t have it either. But God does. And you can rest in that. He is your shelter. He is your protector.
You can take refuge in Him – knowing that ultimately He will work for your good, if you trust Him. This doesn’t mean that bad things won’t happen – that’s a whole other discussion for another post. But He is with you, will never leave you, and knows the outcome will be good, even as you have to walk through the excruciating moments. He is your refuge.
The One Who Is Our Help
God is reaching out to you, offering His help. So what are you going to do with that offer? Are you going to say, as I so often say to others who offer me help – “no thanks, I’ve got this!” You don’t have this. And it’s ok, because He does. Like I’ve been saying – He is enough.
As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:9, ” I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” There is nothing greater than knowing that my life, in all of its “not-enoughness”, brings God glory! He is so, so faithful, and I am learning to fully depend on Him. He is my help – and He is your Help too.
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.
Psalm 125:1-2 ESV
This post has been inspired by and corresponds with Lesson 5 of Call to Worship: An Inductive Introduction to Studying Psalms.
Are you looking for a study that will take your group deep into the Word? One that allows God’s Word to speak for itself, focusing on the text of the Bible, guiding your group through the process of transformational in-depth study? Check out Treasuring God’s Word Inductive Bible Studies! Flexible, engaging, challenging, designed for new believers and experienced students alike, with a heart for God’s Word to take center stage!
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