Hope int he Lord

He is our Hope

For the last year or so, I think more than any year previous, we have grown uncertain with the times we live in.

Uncertain about the things we see taking place around us, uncertain about government and their role in society.

We are uncertain about the economy and if there is enough to sustain us, will our children have the same opportunities as us...

There is uncertainty about the virus has us wondering about life, our health and if some sort of normal will every return.

I could probably go on and name many, many more things we struggle with in life wondering what the out come might be...

But in a world of uncertainty we are reminded to put our hope in that which the world does not readily see…

So what does the world miss? They miss God, but we do not...

We put our hope in God… And we testify to this truth today my friends...

Let me take you to Psalm 121 this evening...

Psalm 121:1–2 ESV

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.

This is really a conversation that is happening here, one person makes and statement and then the priest or the king provides the statement that gives an promise if you will...

So I want to share some promises with you, just a few reasons why we can trust the Lord and place our hope in Him, even in times of uncertainty.

When the Psalmist says my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth, He has a great deal of confidence about what He is saying.

Why?

Well lets walk through the text of Psalm 121, and see why?

1. He is the Creator....

As the passage begins, there is a statement, I lift my gaze upward, toward the hills and there is a question, ..where does my help come from…

And the reply is awesome..

The Scriptures tell us that this world and all that is in it, is God’s creation. I love looking at the very beginning of the book of Genesis. There we see the awesome work of God.

Genesis 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

At a point in time, God decided, planned and carried out His mission to create. And he spoke and all we see in this natural world came into existence, but not only this world but the heavens and all that is out there.

And then He created all the animals, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea and everything that moves upon the land. Finally, He made man both male and female and gave them the joy of bringing the family unit to life.

We can trust the one who is the creator of everything.

How sad would it be if we couldnt trust Him.... but we can, and He is our Helper. Why do I know this… He created me.

He planned for you to come into this world and knows every day of your life. From beginning to end, He knows you. When we look up, we can have the confidence to knowing He is the creator God who loves us, He is our hope and our help.

Moving on....

2. He will Keep us From Stumbling....

Let me ask you this question.. Have you every been out somewhere and because of the conditions, you were nervous as you walked? Maybe it was slippery, maybe it was wet and muddy and you were afraid of falling.

Yeah, we have all been there....

No one wants the pain of falling, especially as we get older, it seems like it hurts more and takes longer to heal.

And consider our spiritual lives, we do not want the tragedy of falling away from God, falling into sin… that is a terrible place to be....

So Listen to the Psalmist, verse 3

Psalm 121:3 ESV

3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.

Here is some good news my friend, Our God, who keeps us does not sleep or rest, and He will keep us from stumbling.

You know when I read this I went back and thought about Elijah, Do you remember when he faced the 450 prophets of baal and when they couldnt get baal to answer their prayers, Elijah was like, what’s happening .. is your god asleep?

When Elijah called on the one true God, God answered with fire. What Elijah was proving is that God neither slumbers or sleeps. He is always present. He is always there and He is for His children.

And since He is always with us, He is attentive to our steps and ensures that those who follow Him will not fall.

Do you remember the Psalmist in consideration to the Word of God. Psalm 119:105

Psalm 119:105 ESV

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

The Word of the Lord is the written revelation of who He is and it provides direction to our lives so that we can clearly see the way we should walk in front of God.

Without it, and frankly, without Him, we are left to walk in darkness, and thus are steps are unsteady, we trip and fall because we cannot see.

I am thankful that God acts in such a way toward us to keep us safe… and speaking of safe, lets move to the next thought...

3. Keeps you from Danger

Have you ever considered that God is able to protect your life physically?

I have heard testimony after testimony from friends through the years who shared how God watched over and protected them in their time of need.

Listen to verses 5 and 6

Psalm 121:5–6 ESV

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.

The Psalmist is reminds us here that God is the one who protects us . He keeps his people safe.

When the Psalmist speaks to the idea of sun and moon,, He is saying the Lord is so close to us, that even the sun or moon light will not even strike us.

Here is what is neat about his thoughts, if light cannot strike us, then who or what can? The Lord is our keeper…

4. Keeps us from Evil...

We have alluded to this a bit before, but please know there is a great truth here, the Lord wants to keep us from evil and yes the evil one.

Look at verses 7-8

Psalm 121:7–8 ESV

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.

Here is a beautiful summation to what the Psalmist has been teaching us.

The Lord promises to not only take care and help us in the immediate part of life, but he also covers all of our existence. Body, mind and soul is included in this my friends.

Now understand that to be protected from evil doesn’t mean a cushy life… or and easy life. What He has promised is a well armed life

Do you remember the Psalmist in the 23rd psalm? Let me remind you of verse 4. Here it is....

Psalm 23:4 ESV

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Listen, because of His hope and because of His help… even while we can expect some deadly valley’s, we do not have to fear it, we can face it in His strength. Even when we are hated for His name sake.. He is with us...

And where is he with us… Everywhere. look again at verse 8

Psalm 121:8 ESV

8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

And not only everywhere, but all the time...

He is our hope and our help all the time my friends, arent you thankful for that..