My Helper, God
[Psalm 121]
This past Monday, during a seminary alumni gathering, I had the opportunity to share a meal with a missionary couple and their four children who are serving in China. After the meal, we had a time to hear their missionary report. Since they have four sons, the missionary pastor stayed with the children while his wife gave the report. Interestingly, I learned through photos and explanations that the pastor's wife is particularly involved in ministry with prostitutes. The pastor himself travels about 10 hours by bus and then walks another two hours to reach a remote valley in the mountains where he teaches the Word of God. The people there have a deep longing to learn, and the pastor confessed that, despite the hardship, he receives grace from their devotion.
After sharing their report, the pastor's wife asked for prayer and, in a moving moment, expressed her desire to become a channel of blessings, especially for church planting pastors and those serving in small churches. I was touched by her tears of love and concern for these pastors. Typically, missionaries end their reports by asking for financial support, but this couple instead said they wanted to be the ones to help others, especially pastors of new and small churches. Seeing that those who themselves are in need of help wish to bless others was a beautiful and noble reflection of their love for the Lord.
Even in the midst of such beautiful dedication, there are times when we are in desperate need of help. In those moments, where do we turn for help?
Today, in Psalm 121:1-2, the psalmist confesses: “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” The psalmist, upon lifting his eyes to the mountains and pondering where his help would come from, concluded that his help comes from Jehovah, the Creator of heaven and earth. The "hills" here symbolize the great powers of the world (as explained by Park Yun-sun). The psalmist, after trying to seek help from the great forces of this world and failing, realized that only God is his true Savior and helper.
So, when we are in desperate need of help, to whom do we turn? Like the psalmist, do we sometimes look to someone or something other than God, wondering where our help might come from? Before fully recognizing our own helplessness, we have a sinful instinct that prevents us from completely depending on God for help. Instead, we often look to the "hills" that God created, seeking help from them rather than the Creator Himself. Eventually, when we do not receive true help from these "hills," we become discouraged and despairing. But through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are led to turn to the Almighty Creator, the One who made those very "hills," and seek His help. After receiving God's assistance, we can then confess, just like the psalmist: "My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."
So, how does the God, whom the psalmist confesses as his Helper, help us according to today's passage?
First, the God who is my help prevents us from stumbling.
Look at the first half of Psalm 121:3: “The Lord will not let your foot slip…” This means that the God who helps us ensures that you and I do not stray from the truth (as explained by Park Yun-sun). What a precious blessing and grace from God this is! We are weak and prone to going astray, as Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.” But Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, keeps us from straying from the path of truth. How great a blessing and grace this is!
Curious about the reasons for the deviation of Korean adolescents, I searched online and found this research result, which I would like to share. The team of professors Hong Seong-do and Kim Ji-hye, from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Samsung Seoul Hospital, conducted a survey on delinquent behavior with 431 middle and high school students (224 boys, 207 girls) in Seoul. The results revealed that for boys, the main cause of delinquent behavior was “anxiety and negative emotions,” while for girls, it was “a distorted self-perception.” Professor Hong’s team explained that the reasons for delinquent behavior differ between boys and girls: boys tend to express temporary delinquent behaviors to relieve negative emotions such as anxiety, whereas for girls, negative self-evaluations and thoughts are the main causes of delinquency (source: internet).
As I read these results, I thought about the cause of deviation in adolescents. I wondered what causes Christians, who believe in Jesus, the Truth, to deviate from it. One of the reasons, I believe, is the negative attitude toward the suffering of the righteous. I think this because in Psalm 73, the psalmist Asaph almost stumbled due to the “suffering of the righteous and the prosperity of the wicked.” What do you think? Do you think that the negative attitude toward the suffering of the righteous is one of the causes of our deviation from the truth? If you think the answer is yes, what do you think we should do to develop a positive attitude toward suffering?
I found the answer in Philippians 1:29: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.” If we know that suffering for Jesus Christ is a grace from God, and if we learn to receive and enjoy this grace with gratitude, we will not deviate from the truth. We must pray for this. We need to pray to God, asking Him to grant us grace so that we may understand that suffering is a blessing from God and to keep us from straying from the truth. When we pray like this, we will be able to pray with faith, believing that, as the psalmist says in Psalm 121:3, “God will not let us stumble.”
Secondly, the God who is my help protects us.
How does God protect you and me?
(1) God protects us without slumbering or sleeping.
Let’s look at the second half of verse 3 and verse 4 of Psalm 121: “He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” Recently, my son Dylan has been afraid to sleep because of nightmares every night. So, I encouraged Dylan to read his Bible and pray before going to bed. My wife told Dylan that he had seen a gorilla in his dream on Sunday and Monday night, which scared him. I told him that the gorilla could be defeated with a small balloon that contained medicine and encouraged him to sleep with it. It seems he slept well that Sunday night. Even though my wife and I love Dylan dearly, we cannot stay beside him all night, praying and placing our hands on his head to protect him from his nightmares. How could we possibly protect him without sleeping ourselves? But the Bible clearly tells us that our Father God watches over us, without slumbering or sleeping. The problem, however, is that when God's help seems delayed, or when our prayers are not answered, we may think that God is sleeping. In reality, God does not sleep. God helps His people in His appointed time, even when they are in difficulty. Therefore, believers must learn to be patient.
(2) God becomes our shade and protects us from harm.
Let’s look at verses 5 and 6 of Psalm 121: “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.” When I meditated on this passage during our early morning prayer meeting, I thought about what would happen if the sunlight were constantly beating down on me in the desert. The thought that God is my shade gave me comfort. It’s like when, during the hot summer, we long for the shade of a large tree, seeking refuge from the intense heat. In this world, when we are weary and troubled by various circumstances, there are times when we long to seek refuge in God, our shade, and go to Him for rest. In this desert-like world, when harmful things like the sun by day and the moon by night threaten us, the fact that God is our shade at our right hand is a great comfort to us. God, who becomes our shade, protects us from the harmful things of this world. He is our shield, protecting us as we press forward towards the higher places, guarding us from all the dangers of this wilderness-like world. Therefore, like David confessed in Psalm 23:4, we too can say: “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.”
(3) God Delivers Us from All Distress.
Let's look at verse 7 from today's passage, Psalm 121: “The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your soul.” The God who helps us keeps us from stumbling, protects us from all dangers, watches over us, and also delivers us from all distress. Isn't that interesting? Even though God protects and watches over us, we still have to go through “all kinds of distress”… When we think about it, we might assume that if God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is protecting us, we should not face any distress. But the Bible tells us that while God protects us, He allows us to experience different kinds of distress, and then He delivers us from them. I find this point quite interesting. I believe the reason why God allows us to go through distress, even though He does not allow us to deviate from the truth, is because He wants to purify us and lead us even more into a place of His blessing.
This past week, I was surprised to discover that among the books sent from Korea, there was a devotional book from a ministry called Precept, and my QT (Quiet Time) writing was included in the December issue. I didn't know who had sent it, but I opened the devotional book casually, and the writing seemed familiar. When I looked more closely, I found my name and the name of my church. Haha! Later, I learned that a sister from a church in Korea, who works on the editorial staff of Precept, had very well summarized my QT reflection and included it in the devotional book. The reflection was based on Hosea 2:14, where God, in disciplining the people of Israel, leads them into the wilderness to speak gently to their hearts. The reflection shared that this was not just discipline, but rather God's blessing, that is, suffering (pain) is God's blessing.
Indeed, the difficulties, adversities, and all kinds of distress we face are God's blessings. Although it may be hard, painful, and heartbreaking at the time, even through all of this, God does not allow us to deviate from the truth. Instead, He uses these situations to deepen our faith and trust in Him. Moreover, He allows us to pray, and in responding to our prayers, He gives us a wonderful opportunity to experience His grace and salvation.
Therefore, we can praise God with hymn 383: "In times of tribulation and persecution, the saints maintained their faith. When I think of this faith, my heart is filled with joy. Following the faith of the saints, I will be faithful unto death." My prayer is that this song of praise will also be present in your hearts even amid your difficult lives and situations.
“I come to You, Lord, seeking Your help...” (Hymn 349)
Pastor James Kim
(With a heart of gratitude to God, who does not sleep nor slumber, but protects and watches over us.)