Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Welcome to the Weekday Podcast of Sugar Hill Church where we desire to help you know God and discover your purpose, whether you're exercising, driving, meditating, or just hanging out while you tune in with us today. Thanks. We hope these next five minutes help you feel encouraged and inspired for your day.
[00:00:22] Speaker B: Hi, everybody, this is Chuck Allen and you're listening to the Weekday podcast and I'm so glad you've joined me today. We're starting a three part series today on Psalm 121 and one of the most comforting passages in the scripture. I believe today's episode is entitled the Helper on the Hill.
I want you to picture something with me for just a minute. You're standing at the base of a mountain. The sun is just beginning to rise and it's casting some long shadows across the landscape. You got it in your head. The path ahead winds upward, it's disappearing into the distance. You've got a journey to make. And from where you stand, the mountains look really, really intimidating. Have you ever felt that way in life? I mean, standing at the bottom of a challenge that seems way too steep to climb? That's exactly where the psalmist finds himself in Psalm 121. Let me read the first verse. I look up to the mountains. Does my help come from there? I just love the raw honesty of the question. The psalmist is on a journey to Jerusalem, looking up at the hills that lie ahead. Hills that could hide bandits, wild animals, all kinds of problems. Hills that represent struggle and danger and uncertainty. And in that moment of vulnerability, here's what the question is. And all of us have asked it at some point. Where's my help coming from? Now just chew on that for a second.
I was reminded of this psalm when recently a buddy of mine gave me a call and it was a little shaky and he said, chuck, he said, the doctor found something on the scan. And just like that, he was standing at the base of a mountain he never planned to climb. A mountain called Cancer. Now, in this first few days, I watch my buddy look up at the mountain with the same question as the psalmist. Where's my help coming from? But here's the beautiful thing about Psalm 121. The question isn't left hanging in the air. Listen to verse two. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. It isn't just any helper. This is the creator of everything. The same hands that crafted the Milky Way, that sculpted the Grand Canyon are the same hands that hold us in our moments of desperation and need.
My help comes from The Lord who made heaven and earth.
Boy, when you think about that, it's like I've got with me the creator of the universe. Friend. When you face your mountains, whether they're health challenges, caring for aging parents, children that may be off the rails, financial struggles, relational breakdowns, maybe it's just your daily climb of life. Your help comes from the maker of heaven and earth, not from the mountain itself, not from your own strength, not from your bank account or your social connections. You. Your help comes from the Lord. When you continue to read verses three and four, it says, 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. I find such amazing comfort in these words. In my darkest days, I run to this passage. You see, the beautiful thing is God doesn't ever take a nap. He doesn't take a break. He doesn't check out. He never says sorry. I was distracted for a minute. When my buddy was lying awake at 3am Wrestling with fear about his diagnosis, God was wide awake with him, watching and caring and ever, ever present.
You know, the same is true for you, my friend. Whatever keeps you up at night, whatever makes your heart race with anxiety, God is there, fully alert, fully engaged. When you look at verses five and six, it says, the Lord himself watches over you. The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day or the moon by night. This imagery, while it's so illustrative, in ancient times, the sun represented the dangers of the day. Heat stroke, dehydration, exhaustion. The moon represented the dangers of the night. Cold and wind and andimal and thieves. The psalmist is saying, God protects you from every danger at every hour and every situation. And notice where God is positioned right beside you.
Not far away, not watching from a distance, but right there, walking with you, providing shade when the heat of life becomes way too intense.
My buddy discovered this truth during his treatment. Chuck. He told me one day after, like this particularly weird round of chemo. I don't know how to explain it, but I've never felt God's presence more strongly than I do now. It's like he's walking with me through every treatment. That's the promise, friend, of Psalm 121. God doesn't remove the mountain, but he walks with us as we climb it. Now, let's Finish with verses 7 and 8. The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and you go. Both now and forever. Notice the repetition of the phrase the Lord keeps in the original Hebrew. The word used here is shamar. It means to guard, keep, protect, preserve. It appears six times in this short psalm. Why the repetition, you might ask? Because God wants to drive home this point. His protection is not occasional or conditional. It's constant and complete. He watches over your coming and you're going. You're waking and you're sleeping, you're working and you're resting. Your present and your future.
You know, my buddy said, I've learned something, Chuck. The mountain's still there, but I'm still I'm just not alone on it. Friends, I don't know what your mountain is today.
Maybe it's a health concern. Maybe it's a strain of a broken relationship. Maybe it's financial pressure. I don't know. Maybe it's just the daily grind. But I do know this. You do not face it alone. So look up at your mountain, ask your question, and then hear his answer. I am here, I am with you, and I will help you with every step of the way.
We'll pick up in a couple of days and look back at Psalm 21 and we'll look at what it means to allow God to be our keeper. Until then, this is Pastor Chuck reminding you that whatever mountain you're facing, your help comes from the Lord. Thanks so much for joining me today. If this message spoke to you, share it with someone who might need it. And remember, we have a prayer team ready to pray for you wherever mountains you're facing. Just reach out to prayersugarhillchurch.com until next time, I trust God's presence will be your helper on every hill. God bless you. Bye now.
[00:07:30] Speaker A: Thanks so much for joining us today for the weekday podcast. Our prayer is that the encouragement you just heard would help you live more like Jesus today. Today we would love to see you at Sugar Hill Church for one of our gatherings each Sunday at 9, 15 and 11. And we're always streaming live at Live Sugarhill Church. Thanks again for joining us today. As always, if today's message encouraged you, share it with friends and family by tapping the share button. Have an awesome day.
