Yan Hadley spoke tonight on Psalm 121 on the subject of standing firm when life is sinking fast. Our society seems to be sinking in many ways – morally, spiritually, politically and socially, and as individuals, we often feel as though we are sinking when circumstances overwhelm us. The ‘four Ls’ of Psalm 121 give us hope in such difficult times and teach us how to stand firm.
1. Look Beyond Yourself & Your Circumstances
The psalmist lifts his eyes up to God and realises that attitudes matter. Self-effort, self-pity and self-centredness are the result of only looking to ourselves for solutions; ultimately, we need to look up to God in order to have a right perspective. Elisha and his servant (2 Kings 6:17) demonstrate the need for a spiritual perspective when we face opposition: the servant saw only the human forces arrayed against them, but Elisha could see the invisible forces of God which were there to protect and help. Similarly, Stephen, even when being stoned to death, could look up to heaven and see Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:55) Jesus is our ultimate example in looking beyond the circumstances (Heb 12:2), seeing not simply the scorn and shame of the cross but the joy of the salvation His sacrifice would provide. When we look beyond ourselves and our circumstances, praising and worshipping God and using the gift of tongues to soak ourselves in God, we find that a changed perspective gives us strength in God.
2. Let Your Mind Focus on the Greatness of God
The psalmist realised his help came from God, the Maker of heaven and earth. Our God is the Sovereign Lord and nothing is too difficult for Him. (Jer 32:17) We need to focus our minds on God, for a double-minded person is unstable in all their ways (Js 1:8) – spiritual schizophrenia is no help to us in trouble! We need God’s help and strength, and God promises to hear and answer us. (Jer 33:3) Is 9:6 reminds us who our God is: ‘Wonderful Counsellor’ (who gives us the right answer because He knows all about the problems), ‘Mighty God’ (who has the power to help us), ‘Everlasting Father‘ (who has the willingness to help us because we are His children) and ‘Prince of Peace’ (who can help us not to panic, see Is 26:3)
3. Listen to God
We need to listen to God and believe the promises He gives us in His word. There are so many other voices vying for our attention (rational thinking, feelings, circumstances, other people etc.) but we need to listen to God and meditate on His promises. God is not a man that He should lie (Num 23:19) and all His promises are ‘Yes’ in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 1:20). These are some of the promises Yan reminded us of:
- forgiveness to deal with sin and guilt (1 Jn 1:9)
- healing to deal with illness (Ps 103:3)
- deliverance to set us free from bondage (Ps 34:19)
- provision to care for our every need (Phil 4:19)
- guidance to lead us through uncertainty (Prov 3:6)
- confidence that God will sustain us (Ps 55:2)
4. Live with a Total Conviction that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Ps 121 repeatedly talks about the Lord and Phil 2 reminds us that God has exalted Jesus to the highest place and given Him the name above every name. No matter what the name of our problem which is causing us to sink, Jesus is greather than that name. God is in control. As we focus on the supremacy and sovereignty of God (Rom 8:28), God brings security into ur lives, enabling us to stand in His mighty power (Eph 6:10).
