Daily devotional · February 25
Help Comes From Above
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is the shade on your right hand. The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul. The LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.”
This is a pilgrim's song. Travelers heading toward Jerusalem looked up at the hills, which held both beauty and danger, robbers, wild animals and exhaustion. The psalmist asks where help will come from and answers that it comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. Then the psalm repeats the word keep again and again: he keeps your foot from slipping, he does not slumber, he keeps your going out and your coming in. We may not be walking mountain roads, but we all travel: to work, through school, through illness, through changes. It comforts us that the One who guards us never sleeps. Today, before leaving the house or starting your work, pray this psalm as a blessing over your day. Name the places you will go and the people you will meet, and hand each one into his keeping.
Prayer
Lord, You watch over my going out and my coming in. Keep me safe today. Amen.