Protected

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Scripture
 
Psa. 121:5        The LORD is your keeper;
        the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
6     The sun shall not strike you by day,
        nor the moon by night.

Observation

The Psalmist lifts up his eyes to the hills and recognizes that his strength doesn’t come from the gods which dot the mountainsides, but from the great Protector. The LORD — Yahweh is the one who will keep us in the time of trouble. The LORD stands at our right hand as one who bears a shield of protection so that our right arm is free to engage in spiritual battle. There the LORD stands between every threat, those real and those imagined. The sun brightens the daylight so the enemy can be seen and identified. In the shadow of the midnight hour imaginary threats begin to loom in the moonlight. No matter what the threat, whether excessive heat or baneful chills, the LORD is our keeper and our protector.

Application

Threats abound in life, whether real or imaginary. Whatever it is that strikes fear in the heart of a believer, this can become a barrier to abiding in the presence of the LORD.

The LORD is our protector so that we may continue to press on. This is the beauty of the Psalmists words, that the LORD will protect and provide shade of our right hand. The LORD protects our right hand with which we are to continue to press on. The promise is not for the right hand to be replaced by the LORD, but that the LORD protects so the we may participate as partners together in God’s mission in the world.

The imagery of the keeper and protector of the right hand is one of warfare. There is no promise of an easy life, but there is a promise of partnership. God is aware of the enemies, both real and imaginary. The moon represents that which we imagine in the shadows of the night and in this place there is often more fear than in the daylight. When our minds begin to imagine every single worst-case scenario we can be driven to the abyss of darkness. But the LORD promises protection, even from the places in which our mind may wander.

Spiritual victory may be won in the deep recesses of our mind where our thoughts may wish to take us captive to fear. The LORD protects us — even from ourselves. This is the promise when we lift up our eyes and see that God is greater than the idols which dot our landscape. We are protected.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for your great and precious promises in the day and night. Amen.

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