This is my favorite psalm. There are many powerful images. We can see someone traveling the desert, threats all around, and looking to the hills for help. We have known those sleepless nights when worries or anxieties have our minds racing through worst case scenarios. We have felt exposed when a secret shame or a point of vulnerability comes to light.
But hear the promises imbedded in these verses: Your help comes from the Lord, the very maker of heaven and earth. The Lord never sleeps so that you can. The Lord will offer shade when the spotlight on your faults is too bright. “The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore (vs. 7-8).”
Which of these images are especially powerful to you now? What situation in your life has you looking for help, tossing in the night, or fearing exposure?
Offer this situation to God in prayer, asking for an assurance of God’s presence and help.