Where do you turn when you don't know where to turn?
It's a sad truth that so many people have no one with whom to be deeply intimate, a confidant or soul mate. As I discover daily and mention so often, it's life in The Secular City that Harvard theologian Harvey Cox predicted in his book fifty-years ago. It is a lonely world of mobility and anonymity where humans must often go it alone. It's one of the reasons the trends about church membership among the younger cohorts troubles me so. The day will come when people of depth will matter in life.
King David had a spiritual advisor or prophet, military commanders, a palace full of functionaries, and a kingdom of loyal followers. There were several family sets and the intrigues that motivated treachery and so many other family issues. David was a man after God's own heart but, like most of us, he had a hard time connecting that heart to the rest of his body. As a result his life was a jumble of bad decisions, sinful behaviors, and troubling alliances. There were times when he couldn't trust another soul. Looking around just frustrated him even more.
In those dark hours he turned to God. He looked up. Psalm 121 is one of those songs that magnifies God's sovereign care. This Psalm is one of the most repeated of David's songs, especially when people are experiencing death, grief, or mourning. It has comforted millions. Let it comfort you this Lord's Day and prepare you to look up---
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.
Psalm 121
Look up!