The Lord is my keeper | At Water’s Edge

Navel-Gazing

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Betsy

Navel-gazing is the habit of excessive contemplation on a single issue at the expense of being able to see the wider view of the bigger picture. The image that comes to mind with this phrase is a person with their head bent low, not looking up and not engaging in the world around them. Focusing on their own navel, they never see what God is doing in the midst of their crisis.

Today’s beautiful psalm begins with an antidote to navel-gazing. The psalmist reminds us to look up. It is an instruction to lift up our eyes and look heavenward. This is what he did, and he saw God’s presence.

Psalm 121 (New International Version)

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
²My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

Whatever you are dealing with right now, ask yourself this: where does your help come from? Too often we look the wrong direction for direction. We look to social media to confirm our bias. We look to alcohol and drugs to numb our distress. We look to gossip and over-sharing to assuage our anxiety. We look to movies and television to help us ignore reality. We look in all the wrong places because they are easy to obtain. But our only real help comes from the Lord. Lift up your eyes!

³He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

This is a powerful reminder of what happens when we look to God to help us and completely yield our situation to him. He won’t let your foot slip. In all of those moments when you awaken at 4:00 in the morning and can’t get back to sleep because your problems keep running through your mind, God is already on watch.

⁵The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
⁶the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

Psalm 121 is a pilgrimage song that was sung as the people journeyed to Jerusalem. They had to walk over hills and through valleys that were surrounded by mountains. There was danger on the road. Robbers would hide in the hills and attack them. The sun beat down on them by day and the moon exposed their position by night. But God provided a protection of shade for them, as he will for you.

⁷The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
⁸the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Knowing that God watches over us is a blessing of comfort and assurance. The promise that God will keep you from harm is something you can count on now, and forevermore. When we entirely yield our lives to his safe keeping, we walk in his peace. When that happens, the only kind of navel-gazing you will need is to bow your head in a prayer of submission and thanksgiving and let it all go to him.

The Lord is your keeper! Thanks be to God.

Look Up

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Betsy

I am blessed to be mentoring a Chinese student from my alma mater who stays in touch with me, even though she has graduated and has returned to Beijing. We are working hard right now to get her into grad school. She is diligently filling out applications and submitting transcripts: I am writing letters of reference and praying hard. She has been pretty isolated in her apartment for weeks now since the outbreak of the coronavirus, and it is something we talk about as we check in with each other from halfway across the world.

I have mentioned before that I have a kind of ambivalence toward the Lectionary. In over twenty years of ministry, I have never been in a church that used it every single Sunday. But I do love how it takes you to scriptures you might overlook if you are “picking and choosing” rather than allowing scripture to choose you instead.

Just as I finished a conversation with my mentee this morning, this scripture assignment popped up. This Psalm definitely chose us today!

So take a look at today’s lectionary selection, and read it with the news of the coronavirus (or anything else that is troubling you) in mind:

Psalm 121 (New King James Version)

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
²My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

³He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
⁶The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

⁷The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
⁸The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

The Psalmist is traveling across dangerous roads on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The way is full of rocks, extreme desert temperatures, bandits, and wildlife. But he remembers where his help comes from, and so he lifts his eyes to the hills. The sun won’t hurt him as he travels by day. The moon won’t reveal his position as he rests at night. His foot won’t be moved by the rocky terrain and steep slopes. His help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Do you feel like you are traveling a dangerous road? Is your path littered with all kinds of things that might cause you to stumble and fall? Remember, this is the same Lord speaking today, who hears YOUR cry for help.

I know you’re scared. I know you’re taking appropriate precautions. I know you are praying. As you do these things, remember that the Lord is your keeper. He preserves your going out and your coming in, for now, and forevermore.

Lift up your eyes to the hills. Your help comes! So keep calm, and carry on….and wash your hands like you just cut up jalapeños and you have to take your contacts out!

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