Bible Studies

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The Songs
Psalm 121 - Searching the Hills
Key Verses: (NCV)

• 1-2: "I look up to the hills, but where does my help come from? ²My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth." - From our perspective in life at times the help and guidance we seeks seems far away and distant.
  
  
• 7-8: "The LORD will protect you from all dangers; He will guard your life. ⁸The LORD will guard you as you come and go, both now and forever." - The song of assurance reveals a trust in God for all things and forevermore.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• Where do you seek help? When things run amuck in your life, do you look high and low for help? Are you hungry for aid and assistance? The psalmist was looking up to the hills indicating that he was stuck in a depression or valley and could not see a way out. When you're stuck where do you turn? Do you turn to friends or family? Perhaps you find solace by indulging in alcohol, food, sex, or TV? When none of this helps, what then? Is this when you finally seek God?
  
  
• Does God protect you from all dangers? Does He guard your life? What about your life is He guarding? Is He keeping you safe from illness, disease, or death? Does He keep the waves of disaster from sweeping you away? If these are not the types of things that God protects you from, what is? This psalm provides an assurance that God will protects us wherever we go. What is God protecting? Is He protecting your soul? Is His perspective of your life in the context of eternity? Is He protecting your relationship with Him?
  
  
• Do you trust God? When your life is a mess and the waves of disaster keep beating at your door, can you still trust God? When life seems unfair and you've faced the loss of loved ones or the pain of heartless diseases, can you still read this psalm and feel the assurance of God's love and protection? If so, are you made stronger by your faith? Do your trials and tribulations become the foundation for God's holy work in your life? Is this the pathway to righteousness?
  

Promise of the Gospel:

A psalm of assurance makes for nice reading when things are going well in our lives. However, when we are in the pit of pain and despair, its words may strike a tender nerve. When we are in the valley of the shadow of death and when everything in our lives is spinning out of control, help seems farther off than the distant hills on the horizon. It doesn't seem that help is anywhere in sight. These times of helplessness are moments for God. We may not understand the pain or the reasons for our suffering. It is likely that we won't even feel God's presence or see His protection at work. However, when we simply accept that He is there with us and when we choose to trust in His love, then we are walking a pathway to righteousness that will bring us closer to Him, now and forevermore.

FUMC Devotionals
Faithwriters Magazine
BLOG: Reflections from the Left

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