Psalm 121

Today's blog entry does not come fully from me but is mainly just a snapshot of Eugene Peterson's, "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction". I've been writing about this book a lot lately but today I wanted to quote it in my blog so that all of you could get a glimpse of his heart and possibly be encouraged to give it a read. I will also end my blog today by stating my own significance with this quote as well as my internal struggles and inspirations. (Note: Peterson's quote refers to Psalm 121, which I've copied and pasted prior to his quote).

Psalm 121

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

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

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

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

"The promise of the psalm--and both Hebrews and Christians have read it this way--is not that we shall never stub our toes but that no injury, no illness, no accident, no distress will have evil power over us, that is, will be able to separate us from God's purpose in us...  St. Paul wrote, 'No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face.  All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll  always be there to help you come through it' (1 Cor 10:13).

Three times in Psalm 121 God is referred to by the personal name Yahweh, translated as GOD. Eight times he is described as the guardian, or as the one who guards. He is not an impersonal executive giving orders from on high; he is present help every step of the way we travel. Do you think the way to tell the story of the Christian journey is to describe its trials and tribulations? It is not. It is to name and to describe God who preserves, accompanies and rules us.

All the water in all the oceans cannot sink a ship unless it gets inside. Nor can all the trouble in the world harm us unless it gets within us." 

-Eugene Peterson (A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, pg.42-43).

There are three things I found incredibly appealing about Peterson's quote, and since I already made you read quite a bit today I will be as concise as possible. 

1. I LOVE that Peterson supports the fact that Christians are not free from suffering but in fact most likely will suffer, however, in doing so will never be overcome by their suffering (by God's grace) and will never be put through more than they can handle. This is especially interesting to me because I've also been contemplating C.S. Lewis' quote "The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not"... I would never wish suffering on anyone, but some days I find myself comparing my life to other people's lives (bad idea) and question why some journeys seem more difficult than others. Reading over Peterson's ideas has helped me clear up some of my thoughts on this.  

2. I'm troubled by Peterson's quote, "Do you think the way to tell the story of the Christian journey is to describe its trials and tribulations? It is not. It is to name and to describe God who preserves, accompanies and rules us." I don't know about you, but I always default to the idea that my life is all about me. I often forget, it's not. I often forget that my triumphs and my failures, my successes and my sorrows, all belong to God. Furthermore, when I begin to think that the story he has given me is meant to draw attention to me what-so-ever I am stopped dead in the moment by realizing "it is not". Everything we do is meant to point to Jesus. This is true humility, and this is an every day surrender we must make in our lives. 

3. I am encouraged by his final sentences in the quote, "All the water in all the oceans cannot sink a ship unless it gets inside. Nor can all the trouble in the world harm us unless it gets within us". How reassuring is it that regardless of the amount of evil in the world, there is nothing that can penetrate God's infinite power and love that He has placed over our lives. This doesn't make us void of suffering, it simply makes us invoid (yes I made that word up) of God's strength in our lives.