From where does my help come?

I became acquainted with Psalm 121 in my mid-20s when I worked for The Salvation Army.  I helped plan a work retreat and came across this psalm and it seemed to speak to my heart, although I'm sure my manager was wondering a bit how that fit in with the theme of Increased Efficiency.

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

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

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

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

 

 

My work is about traveling, and I think back to those early days -how I was driving all over the Midwest without benefit of cell phones or GPS or WIFI, meeting strangers in their homes, nobody really knowing where I was (including, sometimes, ME) for days at a time. 

 

Really, it says something about the goodness of humankind that nothing truly horrible ever happens to us professional fundraisers.  Truly horrible = can't laugh about it later.

 

I think I like this psalm so much because it starts out with the singer looking around for help, and immediately recognizing that his help comes from the Lord.

 

I wish that was MY immediate thought.  Usually my first thought when serious trouble happens is, What can I, alone in the world, do to resolve this issue?  Then, my second thought usually is, "I.Am.So.Screwed."

So, task #1 in seizing truth: Remember that my help comes from the Lord.