Monday: Assurance of God’s Care

Daily Lesson for Monday 22nd of January 2024

Read Psalms 40:1-3, Psalms 50:15, Psalms 55:22, and Psalms 121:1-8. How is God involved in our daily affairs?

The Lord reveals Himself in Scripture as the living God who acts on behalf of those who call upon Him.

For the psalmist, “the Lord [is] always before me” (Psalms 16:8). Therefore, he trusts God and calls upon Him (Psalms 7:1, Psalms 9:10). The Lord will hear him even when he cries out of the “depths” (Psalms 130:1-2), conveying that no life circumstance escapes God’s sovereign dominion. Thus, the psalmist’s cry, no matter how urgent, is never devoid of hope.

Image © Pacific Press at Goodsalt.com

Psalms 121:1-8, meanwhile, celebrates the power of the Creator in the faithful individual’s life. This power includes:

1. “He will not allow your foot to be moved” (Psalms 121:3, NKJV). The image of “foot” is often descriptive of one’s life journey (Psalms 66:9, Psalms 119:105, Proverbs 3:23). The Hebrew word for “move” describes the security that God gives to the world (Psalms 93:1) and to Zion (Psalms 125:1).

2. The image of the Lord as Israel’s Keeper who does not slumber nor sleep highlights the Lord’s constant alertness and readiness to act on behalf of His children (Psalms 121:3-4).

3. The Lord is “your shade” (Psalms 121:5-6, NKJV) calls to mind the pillar of cloud in the time of the Exodus (Exodus 13:21-22). Similarly, the Lord provides physical and spiritual shelter to His people.

4. God is at their right hand (Psalms 121:5). The right hand typically designates a person’s stronger hand, the hand of action (Psalms 74:11, Psalms 89:13). Here it conveys God’s nearness and favor (Psalms 16:8, Psalms 109:31, Psalms 110:5).

5. God’s protection of His people is clearly confirmed in Psalms 121:6-8. God shall preserve His children from all evil. Neither “the sun” nor “the moon” shall strike them. God shall preserve their “going out” and “coming in.” These poetic figures underscore God’s comprehensive, unceasing care.

The bottom line? The psalmist trusted in God’s loving care. We, of course, should do the same.

What are some practical ways that you can better experience the reality of God’s care? How can you better cooperate with God in order to enable Him to work within you and for you?