As young people and young adults we rely on various people and objects as we go about our activities during the week. We rely on our parents to provide us with what we need for our daily living, food, shelter and clothing, among other things. We rely on cars, bikes or public transportation to get us to and from school, work and recreational activities. We rely on our teachers whether in high school or college to give us solid academic instruction so that we can graduate from these institutions and go about our paths in life. In order to accomplish these things, we have to place a certain amount of trust and confidence in these people and items. When people prove unreliable and objects don’t function correctly, we tend to look elsewhere for our needs. Although this is true from a physical point of view, it is even more so spiritually. In Psalm 121 the Psalmist speaks about trust and reliance. “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help?” (verse 1). He then answers this question in verse 2: “my help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth. He goes on to speak about the ever-present watchfulness of God “He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (verses3b, 4). “The Lord is thy keeper the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand” (verse 5). He goes on in verse 7 to say, “The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.” This means not that God will never send evil things into our lives, but that He will lead us through our trials, whatever they may be. Our parents, teachers, boyfriends and girlfriends love us dearly and would do anything they could to protect us. However, they are human and aren’t always able to be there for us. School and jobs don’t always work out the way we want. Sometimes financial investments and marriages can go sour and cause great pain. Who do we turn to in all of this? Is it our abilities or talents? Is it drugs or alcohol? Our abilities and talents are with us in this life and can be taken away. Drugs and alcohol cause more problems than solutions. Instead we are to rely on God and look up to Him for our help and strength, not only in bad times, but also when life is going well for us. His help will see us throughout our lives. It is constant and everlasting. It is always dependable. “The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even forever more” (Psalm 121:8). As we begin a new week let us remember that God will guard, protect, and keep us not only now, but always throughout our lives. “For this God is our God and He will be our guide, even unto death”(Psalm 48:14).
Kevin Rau
Young Calvinists 