The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "POWER OF A PSALM" for Sunday, 23 October 2016 with Scripture: Psalm 121:1-8

The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "POWER OF A PSALM" for Sunday, 23 October 2016 with Scripture: Psalm 121:(0) A song of ascents:
(1) If I raise my eyes to the hills,
from where will my help come?
2 My help comes from Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip —
your guardian is not asleep.
4 No, the guardian of Isra’el
never slumbers or sleeps.
5 Adonai is your guardian; at your right hand
Adonai provides you with shade —
6 the sun can’t strike you during the day
or even the moon at night.
7 Adonai will guard you against all harm;
he will guard your life.
8 Adonai will guard your coming and going
from now on and forever.

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I lift up my eyes to the hills — from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD.[Psalm 121:1-2 (NRSV)]
During our son Paul’s training as a cadet in the U.S. Air Force Academy, he and the other cadets were tested to their limits. As his parents, Betty and I supported him during those trying days. We wrote to him, prayed daily for him, and encouraged him to draw strength from Psalm 121 — a favorite scripture of ours. That psalm spoke directly to him there in the Colorado mountains when the psalmist said: “I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord.” We often encouraged our son to look up to the mountains that surrounded him and to remember this psalm.
Upon completion of his basic training, he said that our encouragement and the spiritual strength he drew from this passage — and his own personal faith — had enabled him each day to face tough challenges with renewed confidence. Throughout his years as a cadet, our son continued to draw inspiration from the Lord through regular worship in the Air Force Academy chapel. All during his 20 years as a pilot, he knew that God was near.
When we face difficulties — such as disease, loss of a loved one, or loss of a job — we can turn to Psalm 121 and lift our eyes to the Lord with the assurance that God will help us and sustain us.
See an image the author with her husband and son, here.
Link2Life for October 23, 2016

Betty, Paul, and Don HuffmanThe Author: Donald Huffman (North Carolina, USA)
Thought for the Day: Wherever I am, I can seek God’s help.
Prayer: Thank you, O Lord, that we can always look to you, knowing that you are with us and care about us. Amen
Prayer focus: THOSE SERVING IN THE MILITARY

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