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I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
Psalm 121 is a sort of a self-inflicted intervention. It’s as if the Israelites, on their journey to worship, pause and ask themselves what they’re actually doing. In verse one, they ask themselves a simple question, “Does my help come from mountains?”
To understand why they would ask this question it’s helpful for us to remember the context. The people of God sang these Psalms as they ascended to worship God on the hill in Jerusalem. Hills were not only a place where Jews worshiped, but also where other idolatrous nations worshiped. As they hiked up to Jerusalem, they would pass other hills with altars to other gods. By asking this question, they were posing several other questions, “Are we just like the nations who walk the hill toward their altars? Does our help, like the other nations, come from walking the hill?”
If we’re honest, we’ve all had moments when we’ve posed similar questions about religious activities. What makes our religious activity different from the next person’s? Every person, regardless of what he or she believes about God, needs somewhere to place hope. Wherever that person hopes becomes the object of their worship. No, we don’t find many people on hills burning sacrifices to gods of the sun or moon these days, but we do find people before altars of career, appearances, and entertainment. In fact, on many days we find ourselves at those same altars.
Ironically, the answer to the question is no; Jerusalem was no better in and of itself. Help doesn’t come from the mountains, not even Jerusalem – just like our help doesn’t come from church attendance, giving to charity, or even reading the Bible. Our hope is deeper then those things. Today, use Psalm 121 as a self-inflicted intervention. Ask yourself the same type of question, “Where does my help come from?” or “Where do I typically turn for help?” Perhaps you turn to Netflix, work, addictions, friends, or exercise to help you bare the stress of life. The way you answer this question may be indicative of the hills you’ve been worshiping on. Simply be honest before God with your answer.[/vc_column_text][us_separator height=”25px” size=”custom”][vc_column_text]
By Aaron Bjorklund
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