Day 44 of 90 Devotion

Dearest e-votees-

Day forty-four of our cover to cover voyage through the Bible. If you want to see the readings for our trip through the Bible you can follow this link:

www.christthegoodshep.org/biblein90days.html

Peace,
Karl

--------------

Day 44 Readings: Psalm 109:1-134:3

By far one of the Psalms that gets read the most by me, particularly when near hospital beds and hospices, is Psalm 121 (A song of ascents.):

I lift up my eyes to the hills--
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip--
he who watches over you will not slumber,
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you--
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm--
he will watch over your life;
The Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore. (NIV)

When life has us flat on our back (illness, fatigue, accident, deathbed, etc., etc.) we look up seeking help. This psalm is a song about looking up to God. It is called a song of ascents. It would have been spoken or sung as people went up to Jerusalem on pilgrimages. It is a way of matching words to actions to longings of the heart. We look up to God for help.

God indeed watches over us. We are protected and comforted and shielded throughout our lives. We have no idea how many things didn't come our way through the deflection of a gracious God. God is vigilant in watching over us.

At some point, we will leave this world. None of us, not even Jesus, avoided physical death (maybe Elijah and Enoch but that's for a different time). We all get to die. But even in that coming and going the Lord will watch over us. There is nothing we go through in this life that God won't go through with us. That is a deep and abiding promise for us and for all we know who need to hear it.

Life is full of ups and downs--of ascents and descents. But not matter how far down we go, Jesus has gone further. And no matter how far down we go, God will lift us even higher as the promise of resurrection and eternal life come fully to bear.


God, help us keep our eyes ever and always on you. You are our faithful caregiver and we are yours. Amen.