What difference does it make?

There are days when it seems as though you have no strength at all. You know what you should be doing; you know what the demands are. You work to accomplish your tasks. Yet, instead of finally achieving the satisfaction of accomplishment, you are overtaken by weariness. You feel weak beyond hope. You ask yourself in frustration, “What difference does it make?”

 

The psalmist must have experienced thoughts like these as he traveled to Jerusalem to worship. Psalm 121 records how he looked up at the hills surrounding him on his journey, he knew that he was vulnerable. On the journey up toward Jerusalem, the hills were full of foreboding—perhaps robbers and wild animals lurked among the shadows. 

 

Then the psalmist looked beyond the very real threats to his safety, to the very one who made the hills where the dangers lurked. Realizing his weakness and vulnerability he looked to his God:

 

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. Psalm 121

 

As he looked at the hills, he asked the obvious question—where does my help come from? Most likely the hills around him did not encourage him with thoughts of peace and comfort. Most likely he was not thinking of the natural beauty of the hills. As the verse implies, like you, he looks at the source of his concerns and asks where his help will come from when trouble threatens. Now you have something that directly connects you to the psalmist.

 

The first direction for where to look for help comes in verse two. The psalmist immediately encourages himself with the obvious—but often untested—reality that God is the source of his help, because God is the Maker of heaven and earth. God made the hills and all that is in them. This reality seldom connects with daily life. But it must! God made all that we see. He is able to help us. That is certainly the source of his help. The rest of the psalm soars with this reality!

 

The same is true for you when you are overwhelmed and apprehensive. The God Who made the hills is the God who is in control of the problems that you face; just as the psalmist could look to God for whatever trouble would come from the hills, you can look to God for help in whatever you face, because he rules over all of your troubles as well. Listen to what the Apostle Paul told his brothers in Corinth:

 

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

 

The things that happen in your life are not random. They are brought to you by God so that you and I would learn to love him more each day. So, when you are overwhelmed and weary, you too can say that your help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth!

 

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