Live Free with Josh Howerton - A Roadtrip Psalm | Ep. 389 | Thursday, August 1, 2024

Episode Date: August 1, 2024

When you take a roadtrip, you typically have a few songs ready to play as you travel. In the Old Testament, people also sang songs to pass the time, one of which was Psalms 121, a song of ascents. They sang this song as a reminder of God’s protection as they headed towards Jerusalem. God is just as present with us in the journey as in the final destination. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. Church slash daily drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, thanks for joining us on the Daily Drive. I'm Mike Bro, and we've been downloading some ancient song lyrics into our hearts. They come from the book of Psalms in the Old Testament section of the Bible.

And today I want to look at one that is classified as a song of Ascent. These songs were believed to be kind of road trip songs, if you will, that the people would sing on their way up to the city of Jerusalem. So if you need a great road trip song for your travels this summer, Check out Psalm 121. It begins this way. I look up to the mountains. Does my help come from there?

My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Now the songwriter understood that as he or the group that he was road-tripping with caught a view of the distant mountains, they didn't need to arrive in Jerusalem to know God's protection and presence. God would be just as present in the journey as he was at the destination. And mountains signifies strength and protection all the way through Scripture. But he's saying it's not the mountains here, but the mountain maker who provides strength and help along this journey called life. Man, that's a couple of good verses to stick in your heart today.

Verse 3. He will not let you stumble. Here he's talking about how God is a firm foundation. He doesn't shake. He doesn't shift. You're on solid footing with him. He says, the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The Hebrew words Shamar is used repeatedly here, painting the image of a keeper or a night watchman who keeps the city safe.

I talked about this recently at Lake Point Church, how God doesn't take naps. He doesn't need like an express shot in the morning to get him moving. He doesn't need a red bull in the afternoon to give him wings. He never gets worn out. He never gets sick or sore or stressed or exhaust. He never dozes off for a second. He doesn't need to kick back and rest his eyes for a minute. The inexhaustible God is up all night long working on our behalf.

His eyes are always on us and his presence is always with us, even when we are worn out, stressed and exhausted. Verse 5, the Lord, which is in all caps, which means Yahweh, the great I am, the Lord himself watches over you and you can't get any more secure than that. The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day nor the moon at night. Now the rays of the sun in ancient Middle East were brutal, just brutal, for those making a long road trip. And the term used here protective shade was a reference back to the way that God led the Israelites through the wilderness by shielding them with a cloud during the day, and then leading them with a fire at night.

In other words, the songwriter is saying here, day or night doesn't matter. He's walking with you. Verse 7. The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. Now, that doesn't mean that bad things won't happen while we live in this fallen world. They do, and they will. But because of the reality of the eternity we are living in, nothing. Nothing can really permanently harm us.

God has taken care of that. through Jesus Christ. Your life is in His hands, and what we suffer here really is, just a little while. You know, it made me think of that verse from 1st Peter chapter 1, where he writes in verse 3, all praise to God, the Father of a Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again

because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance, an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled beyond the reach of change and decay and through your faith. God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad.

There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure trials for a little while. Even though this life can be hard, we will not ultimately be harmed because our priceless inheritance, our real and eternal home, is protected and waiting for us, even while we struggle here for a little while. Verse 8, the Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. I think he's talking about that the Lord keeps watch over you as you come into this world and as you go out of this world. I think he's saying, the Lord watches over you when you're young, when you're old, when you're in between, every day of your life. He just keeps watch over you because you are the apple of his eye, and he never takes his eyes off of you and me.

So let's celebrate that today. Let's ascend up to the mountain of God's presence and power today, and let's just rest in the reality of his unfailing love. And I hope you have a great day today, and I'll see you back here tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about all the digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.church slash daily drive.

Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out.