The starting point of the journey (Psalm 120) begins, perhaps surprisingly, with dissatisfaction. While ever you think there’s nothing wrong with life as it is now, you will never have any incentive to start out on a journey towards God. Politicians, sociologists and advertisers all try to convince us that life is going to get better (the Labour Party in 1997 used the song ‘Things can only get better’ as their campaign slogan), but we only ever really make true spiritual progress when we come to the end of ourselves and realise that only God can help us to live life, because He is the One who made us.
The psalmist begins with a cry of distress, being aware that he is surrounded by ‘lying lips and deceitful tongues’ and is living in a place where he is surrounded by enemies, a place where the majority view is for war. This is not a pleasant song, but life very often is not pleasant. The truth is that we live in a fallen world, where sin has spoiled God’s good and perfect creation. As Aaron Shust sings,
‘I hate to be the one to break the news
To let you down, but I can’t lie to you.
There’s things about the world I wish weren’t true
I guess by now, you must have had a clue.
There’s no such thing as Peter Pan,
No such place as Never Never Land;
I wish we all could have
Those tiny magic wings
But we live in a world with wars;
It’s not like it was before.
We won’t find our happy ever after here.
There’s no such thing.’ (‘Ever After’, Aaron Shust)
The whole world is under the influence of the devil, the ‘prince of this world’ (John 12:31) and that life is a battle ‘against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms,’ (Eph 6:12) whose chief purpose is to blind us to truth and have us believing lies which will keep us from God (see 2 Cor 4:4). We have to turn from the world’s lies and illusions in order to begin our journey with God, a process known as repentance. This is not simply negative, but involves an embrace of God’s ways as our modus operandi. We might view repentance initially as a painful and negative start, but actually, as we turn to God, we realise we are set free to become pilgrims in pursuit of God whose rewards are so much greater than anything we renounce. As Jesus said, ‘Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.’ (Matt 19:29)
Repentance sets us free to head in the right direction, following God’s ways, free to receive His grace, love, forgiveness and help. It does not necessarily guarantee us a problem-free life (we may still have to dwell in Meshek, among the tents of Kedar, representing the world’s ways), but we are given guidance and help on our way. Ps 12o teaches us that we can call to God in our distress and He answers us. We are a needy people, but we have an all-sufficient God. When we call, God answers. He may not remove our problems or offer us quick-fix solutions, but He is there to guide us on the journey and to walk with us, no matter how difficult or trying the terrain. He strengthens our feeble arms and weak knees so that we may walk on straight paths: ‘When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.’ (Prov 4:12-13) These psalms of ascent help us to hold on to instruction and be guided on our journey with God.