Lift Up Your Eyes
to the Hills
by Teresa Dickhoner
Psalm 121 (NKJV)
I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.
Dan didn’t know how hard it would be when his mission board made him the advocate for fellow missionaries kidnapped in South America by rebel gorillas. Years passed before the nightmare ended in tragedy.
It was Dan who met the plane caring the bodies of three of his friends. It was Dan who carried out the heart wrenching duty of taking the news of their deaths back to their families.
He was weary and discouraged when he entered an office at the American embassy for debriefing. But God had not forsaken Dan.
In Florida a Christian FBI agent requested the assignment to meet Dan at the embassy for debriefing a few days later. This FBI agent used the meeting to remind Dan of God’s love and faithfulness. He helped Dan turn weary easy toward the source of strength.
Later I was blessed when Dan’s visited my church and shared his testimony. His passion for God and love for the men showed in his face. My heart broke with him as he described the emotion that over took him the day he meet the plane. And I rejoiced at the way God handpicked the FBI agent that ministered to him when his physical and emotional strength were spent doing God’s work.
Thankfully most of us are not tested in the depths of such circumstances, but we are all tested. We all experience trials in our lives that tempt us to take our eyes off of God and need reminded of His character.
Did you notice that the first two lines of Psalm 121 are a question? The psalmist understood that God who made the hills is the source of his strength. He is not questioning the source of strength but his own resolve to draw on that strength.
“Where do I turn my gaze when I need help?”
The psalmist uses the covenant name of God throughout the chapter. In most of our English version the distention is shown by printing LORD out in all caps. This is the name of God who keeps His promises not just for a day or month or even a year, but forever!
Steadies our step (vs. 3)
Never slumbers or sleeps (vss. 3-4)
Provides shade (vs. 5)
Preserves us from evil (vs. 7)
Watches over our every step (vs. 8)
Look on the hills and meditate on the promises our covenant keeping God has sworn to keep . . . and find strength.
Impenetrable Protection
By Shirley Atchison
“A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. Those who trust in the LORD are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever.” (Psalm 125:1 NLT)
A few years ago in attempting to assist an individual, I found myself in the middle of what could have been a very deadly situation. Funny thing is I didn’t see anything aloof in the natural. No, I was completely unaware. But for several mornings, consecutively, during my prayer time I would hear in my spirit, ‘as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem so I surround and protect you.’
I knew it to be a scripture but at the time I didn’t know where in the Bible it was located. I grabbed my Bible to look it up. “Just as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem , so the LORD surrounds and protects his people, both now and forever.” (Psalm 125:2 NLT) After which, I asked the Lord, “Lord why do you keep talking to me about protection? “
That’s because God, in all His Omniscience knew and did not want me fearful.
Some days after this, a ‘character’ called my home adamant the person I was sponsoring owed him money. Since this had nothing to do with me I stated so. At this, the individual became incensed and threatening, “Don’t make me bring this to your house; I know where you live and I know what you drive!”
I could feel the beginnings of fear creeping up on me. Then the most amazing thing happened. It was if the God in me awaken from slumber. A holy boldness and righteous indignation came over me. I mean, how dare he? Who did he think he was to call and pressure me? “You’re talking about natural weapons, I said, but the God I serve isn’t going to allow you to harm me!”
“I’m a child of God, too,” he yelled, slamming the phone down angrily. I felt so embolden and stirred in my spirit. I wanted to call him back and say, “I’m not done yet.” I Praise God that even before this person came against me He’d prepared me.
Our enemy is a bully. He doesn't fight fair but strikes without provocation in an attempt to catch us off guard, like a thief in a dark alleyway. That's why 1Peter 5:8 admonishes us to "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"
Satan knows God has us hedged in. He acknowledged such when he made a bid for Job. "Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land." (Job 1:9-10 KJV)
But when we stay in that place of peace, humbled under our Heavenly Father's mighty hand, casting all our cares on Him we can resist the accuser steadfast in the faith; without fear. (1Peter 5:6-11 KJV) No matter how he attempts to manifest.
We can praise God, He is our shield and protector; our exceeding great reward! “Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward.” (Genesis 15:1 KJV)
Thank you Father you are our shield, our protector and defender. You are our impenetrable hedge on every side that the enemy cannot permeate. Father, let us not be caught unawares but to always be sober and vigilant clothed in the whole armor of God, our place of victory and peace, where no weapon, evil plan, plot or scheme fashioned against Your children will ever prosper. Thank you, for the victory of the cross that we may walk free of fear, in Jesus’ Name, Amen!
Listen, Can You Hear Him? by Patricia Protzman
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
(Psalms 46:10 NIV)
Do you want to know God better?
Several years ago, my family and I camped for a week in Pennsylvania at Cook Forest State Park. One autumn sunrise while my husband and children slept I left the trailer to read the Scriptures and pray. As I unfolded a chair, my eye spotted a huge doe that sprinted cross the paved road fifty feet from our parked camper.
She trotted along Fire Tower Trail, located across from Ridge Campground. I decided to follow the deer. I wondered what other delights awaited me in the forest.
Tall hemlocks, red oaks, and sugar maples dressed in red, gold, purple, and orange foliage greeted me. Dried leaves, twigs, and acorns, crunched beneath my feet. The sights and sounds of the forest collided with the heady perfume of campfire smoke, bacon, and coffee. I hiked for ten or fifteen minutes before I sighted a fallen log which invited me to rest and pray.
A few minutes later, three whitetail deer strolled into a sunlit grassy spot not seven yards from me. Two fawns, one or two days old, wobbled a few feet away from their mother. The doe released a low grunt sound, moved closer, and stood by her babies. Her head moved side-to-side alert for intruders, ready to dash into the woods at the slightest movement or sound.
A buck with ten-point antlers inched forward from a thick growth of bushes behind the doe and fawns. He bolted at the sound of crunched acorns but stopped, lifted his head, and snorted. His large tongue grabbed a mouthful of acorns from the green carpet and he chomped away.
A Red-bellied Woodpecker tapped a tune with the help of a white oak tree at the same time two Yellow-throated Warblers serenaded me. Three red squirrels and two chipmunks scampered by. I hated to disrupt this magical show but a foot cramp forced me to shift my position. Dead leaves rustled, wildlife darted into the woods, and I remained alone with my thoughts. God’s enchanted display of His creation gave me peace, brought me closer to Him, and filled my heart with joy.
We can see and hear much more when we are quiet. Our world is a hectic and noisy place. People commute to work, take their children to after-school projects and games, use cell phones, text-message, email, and play computer games. The “busyness” of our lives can interfere with our relationship with the Lord.
God commands us to be still and know He is God. He wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him. The first step is to go to a quiet place and Pray.
The first part of the day at my house is quiet after my husband leaves for work. I turn off telephones and the television, and enter my bedroom for at least an hour to repent of my sins, ask God for His help with problems, pray for others, and praise Him. I also listen for Him to speak to me.
The Bible is the Word of God and one of the main tools through which God speaks to us. In my life, I have read the entire Bible many times. The Holy Spirit speaks to me and reveals scriptural truths; some of which I never saw before. The Word is living and breathing—our God is alive!
To listen and obey God requires an attitude of holiness—separated from sin and consecrated to God. Do we want to do His will? If we are stubborn and refuse to ignore our own selfish desires, we are sure to choose the wrong path, opposite of the one God has designed for us. If we long to follow God’s chosen will for our lives, we can trust Him to guide our path.
Hear and listen are two different words. For example, we hear a sound, the minister’s voice when he preaches his Sunday morning sermon. However, do we listen to what he says, or are our thoughts somewhere else?
Years ago as I watched a TV program, my four-year-old daughter, Ann, asked me a question. I replied, “uh huh”. She turned my face toward her with both hands and said, “Mommy, listen to me, I want a glass of milk.” I heard her voice but I did not listen and respond to her request until she made me listen.
Do you want to know God and have a relationship with Him? Go to a quiet place everyday. Pray, read His Word, listen, and obey Him. A life full of peace and purpose will be yours.
