My Help Comes from the Lord

Devotional

Day 1: Finding Our Help in the Maker of Heaven and Earth

As you face the uncertainties of a new season, it is natural to look at the "hills" of your life with a sense of both anticipation and apprehension. These heights may represent the challenges ahead or the places where you are tempted to place your trust instead of God. However, true security is found by lifting your eyes higher than the terrain of your circumstances. You are invited to rest in the truth that your helper is the very one who fashioned the mountains and the stars. He holds all things in his hands, including every detail of your future. [07:24]

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Reflection: When you look at the "hills" or challenges currently looming in your life, what specific fear makes it difficult to believe that the Creator of the universe is personally helping you?

Day 2: Resting in the Care of Our Vigilant Keeper

Human guardians are limited by their nature and will eventually grow weary or fall asleep on duty. You may try to cleverly plan for every disaster or protect your loved ones through your own strength, but such efforts will always come up short. In contrast, the Lord is a perfectly capable watchman who never tires and never loses sight of his sheep. He keeps watch over you continually, ensuring that your life is not thrown off course by the perils of the journey. You can find peace tonight knowing that while you sleep, your Keeper remains fully awake and attentive. [10:08]

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Reflection: In what area of your life have you been acting as your own "watchman," and how might acknowledging God’s tireless vigilance allow you to experience more restful sleep tonight?

Day 3: Experiencing God’s Presence as Our Constant Shade

In the heat of life’s trials, the Lord positions himself as a refreshing shade at your right hand. This image suggests that the Lord of the universe is not a distant deity, but one who attends to you with the reliability of a trusted companion. He provides the necessary relief and comfort required to sustain you through the most grueling parts of your walk. Whether you are facing the pressures of the day or the anxieties of the night, his protective power is always present. You do not have to sustain him; rather, you are invited to depend entirely on his strength. [15:34]

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

Reflection: Think of a "heat-of-the-day" pressure you are currently facing; what would it look like to consciously step into God’s "shade" rather than trying to endure the sun on your own?

Day 4: Trusting the One Who Keeps Your Soul

The promise that the Lord will keep you from all evil does not mean you will never encounter hardship, but that no evil can ultimately undo your life in him. He is actively guarding your soul against the schemes of the enemy and the wanderings of your own heart. Even when you cannot see the dangers he has averted, his providence is working all things for your ultimate good. He is conforming you into the image of his Son, ensuring that your spiritual life is preserved through every trial. You are kept by a God who has already paid the highest price for your redemption. [19:37]

The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.

Reflection: Looking back at a difficult season from your past, can you identify a way the Lord protected your faith or "kept your soul" even when the circumstances themselves were painful?

Day 5: Eternal Assurance for Every Going Out and Coming In

Your entire life, from the smallest daily errand to your final breath, is held within the span of God’s keeping. He oversees your going out and your coming in, providing a bridge of grace from this present moment into eternity. Because you belong to Christ, you can be certain that he will never cast you out or lose you along the way. This assurance allows you to face the future not with self-reliance, but with a humble dependence on his righteous hand. You are never walking alone, for his goodness and mercy will attend you every single day. [21:09]

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

Reflection: As you consider your "going out and coming in" this week, what is one routine activity where you can practice a moment of prayer to acknowledge God’s presence with you?

Sermon Summary

Psalm 121 is set before the assembly as a confident declaration that the help of God comes from the Creator who faithfully keeps his people. The opening lines pose the pilgrim’s question—“From where does my help come?”—and answer it immediately: from the Lord who made heaven and earth. That assurance is then unpacked by a single unifying verb: keep. God is described as the keeper who watches without slumber, prevents the pilgrim’s foot from being moved, and preserves both individuals and the covenant people through every hazard of the way.

The psalm’s context as a song of ascent sharpens its pastoral thrust. Hills can inspire awe and bring danger; pilgrims were vulnerable to slips, thieves, and the fatigue of the road. The language of keeping addresses those realities—God’s care is continual (he does not sleep), comprehensive (he is shade at the right hand, present in every season), and capable (he protects against seen and unseen evils). The imagery of shade and the right hand underscores both practical relief and proximate strength: the Lord stoops to sustain the weak, placing his power where the pilgrim can rely on it.

This promise does not deny hardship; rather it reframes suffering under the certainty of divine providence and ultimate preservation. Even when circumstances threaten life, mind, or hope—day or night, temptation or disaster—the Lord’s keeping secures the believer’s life and hope unto the end. That fidelity is ultimately fulfilled in Christ, who will not lose anything the Father has given him. Thus the pilgrim’s calling is to lift the eyes not to self-resources but to the God who keeps, to trust his preserving work through daily dangers and across history, and to draw strength from a care that endures from now and forevermore.

Key Takeaways

1. Help comes from the Creator God’s aid is not a generic force but the active care of the one who made all things. Recognizing the source of help changes petition into dependence on a sovereign, personal God whose knowledge and provision are rooted in his creative authority. That reality grounds hope when circumstances feel arbitrary or overwhelming. [07:24]
2. Divine keeping is continual and certain The psalm’s repeated verb “keep” stresses ongoing vigilance, not intermittent rescue. God’s watchfulness does not ebb; it is steadfast through every season and failure, meaning believers are guarded more by divine constancy than by their own competence. This shapes patience in hardship: deliverance may be gradual, but preservation is sure. [07:42]
3. God is shade at your right hand Shade signals necessary relief; the right hand signals proximate strength and dependable action. Together they portray a God who both comforts and empowers, who interposes himself practically in the pilgrim’s vulnerability. Trusting this means seeking intimacy with a God who stoops, not a distant deity who demands service from afar. [14:33]
4. Kept through day, night, and evil The promise covers visible threats and hidden assaults—sun and moon, known and unknown evils—affirming that no hour or enemy lies outside God’s guardianship. This does not promise a painless life but assures a secured destiny: the life God preserves includes ongoing sanctifying care and final rescue. [19:17]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:26] - Matthew 6 reading
[02:20] - Psalm 121 read aloud
[03:49] - Songs of ascent explained
[07:42] - The meaning of “keep”
[13:25] - Shade and the right hand
[19:17] - Kept from all evil and assurance
[24:25] - Closing prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Psalm 121 (ESV)

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

Observation questions

According to the sermon, what was the specific context or occasion for which the "Songs of Ascent" were written and sung? [04:22]
The psalm begins with a question in verse 1. What is the immediate answer given in verse 2 regarding the source of the pilgrim's help?
The sermon notes that the explanation of God’s help turns on a single unifying word used six times in verses 3 through 8. What is that word? [07:42]
In verses 5 and 6, what specific images and timeframes does the psalmist use to describe the extent of the Lord’s protection?

Interpretation questions

The hills mentioned in verse 1 are beautiful, but the sermon suggests they could also represent a source of anxiety or danger for a pilgrim. Why might looking at the hills cause a traveler to feel uncertain or insecure? [05:40]
The psalmist emphasizes that God "will neither slumber nor sleep." How does the sermon contrast this divine attribute with human watchmen or our own ability to guard our lives? [10:08]
Verse 5 describes the Lord as "shade at your right hand." In the context of the ancient Near East, what did shade represent, and what does this tell us about the nature of God's care? [14:02]
The promise in verse 7 is that the Lord will "keep you from all evil." Does this mean a believer will never face hardship, pain, or visible threats? How does the sermon explain this promise in light of our ultimate destiny? [19:17]

Application questions

As we look at the year ahead, it is easy to feel anxious about the future. When you think about the coming months, where are you most tempted to look for help or security other than the Lord? [06:32]
Scripture sometimes uses "slipping" as an image for spiritual danger or backsliding. Can you share a time when you felt like your feet were slipping—either in faith or in life circumstances—but you sensed God holding you up? [08:48]
Because God does not sleep, we are free to rest. Do you struggle with sleeplessness or anxious thoughts in the middle of the night? How might remembering that God is awake and watching over you change the way you handle those moments? [17:47]
God is not a distant deity who demands we sustain him; rather, he is the shade at our right hand who sustains us. Do you tend to relate to God more as a boss waiting for you to perform, or as a helper who is intimately present to provide what you need? [14:33]
Jesus promises that he will lose nothing of all that the Father has given him. How does the assurance that your soul is "kept" by God for eternity help you face the temporary struggles and fears of today? [21:35]
The sermon suggests this psalm might be a dialogue between a younger pilgrim asking questions and an older saint answering with confidence. How can we better practice this kind of mutual encouragement within our own small group or church family? [23:19]

Sermon Clips

``And Psalm one twenty seven says, he gives to his beloved sleep. That doesn't mean perfect sleep. It doesn't mean freedom from every affliction. But it it does mean that even now, God is able to grant you real moments of peace. And and in one day, in eternal life, we look forward to no more sleepless nights, to perfect rest. [00:19:12] (24 seconds) #GiftOfRest

And if any of you are facing circumstances that seem so terrible that you're despairing of hope, listen to the word of the Lord. If you would but look for him, look to him. There you find hope. We don't know the timing of the lord's deliverance. We don't know if in the end, the world might take our very life, But we know that if we're trusting in the living God, there's one thing they cannot take from us, our hope, eternal security who is kept by him. [00:16:29] (34 seconds) #UnshakableHope

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My Help Comes from the Lord | Psalm 121