When I am frustrated, fearful, anxious, or sad, I particularly gain new strength from reading words of the shepherd boy whom God turned into a king. David experienced almost every human emotion and wrote about many of them. Today I’m listening to the words of Psalm 121:1-3 (KJV). Listen to them with me.

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills; from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy feet to be moved. He that keepeth thee will not sleep.

In my mind I can hear my dad reciting this passage. It was one of his favorites. Early on, I learned to love it also. Knowing how much my dad loved the hills of north Georgia, I assumed he was finding his help from the hills but as I grew up, I realized it is God who was Dad’s help and is mine. Every time I read it now, I see something new. Following are some of my thoughts as I read it today.

There are some hills in Grady County, southwest Georgia, but none you really could “lift up your eyes to.” There certainly are no mountains as referred to in the New International Version of this passage. But I grew up on a hill in north Georgia in view of Trey and Yonah Mountains. I went to junior college at Young Harris in hiking distance of Brasstown Bald. I cannot see those mountains from Grady County, but they are still there. I’m reminded by this picture I took when Charles and I were rambling around that those beautiful north Georgia mountains are very much still there.

I can’t see the mountains though they are certainly there. Just so, I can’t see God, but he is here. He is the one “from whence cometh my help.” He is the One who made heaven and earth and the mountains pointing to the sky.

He who made heaven and earth will not let my feet be moved, if I follow His directions. In other words, His GPS will guide me if I keep in close touch. If we follow His GPS, God’s Perfect Signal, we will find the right road. Or maybe we will realize we’re right where we’re supposed to be without moving an inch. An old song says “Wherever He leads I’ll go.” Maybe we should sometimes sing “Wherever He leads, I’ll stay.”

But the sweetest part of this passage is verse 4: “He who watches over you will not slumber.” What a comfort to know that 24/7 God is watching over us, His angels surrounding us when we don’t even realize it. In Psalm 4:8 David wrote “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” The promise of God’s diligent watch over us is repeated over and over throughout the Bible. A good one to whisper while you’re going to sleep is “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3)

I will lift up my eyes to the hills God made and worship the One who keeps my feet in the right place and watches over me. “Indeed, he who watches over Israel (and all of us adopted into his fold) will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4).