Keith Battle - Help For The Journey

I’m calling this message «Help for the Journey.» H, tell somebody I’m going somewhere. Yeah, I’m going somewhere—put that in the chat. I’m going somewhere! Every single person listening to me right now, you’re on a journey; you’re going somewhere. We all are headed somewhere, and we may not all have the same destination, and we may not all be headed even in the same direction, but we’re all going somewhere. The thing about this journey we’re on is that sometimes the way gets hard, right? You understand what I’m saying? Sometimes the terrain is tough; sometimes the road is rough, and the hills are hard to climb. Sometimes, it is a difficult journey. My prayer this weekend is that God would use His word to not only give you hope but also to let you know that you have help for your journey.

All right, the book of Psalms, by nature, is really songs—s-o-n-g-s. It’s a plethora of songs and poems that the Israelites would sing at various times. This particular Psalm, Psalm 121, is what is called a Pilgrim’s Psalm, meaning that it is a Psalm that travelers would sing or a song that travelers would quote when they were heading on a journey. Something like many people who are people of faith typically say what we call «Grace» over our food before we eat. It’s something we say right before we eat. Sometimes, as children, there’s a prayer they pray at night right before they go to bed. Well, this is similar in nature, in that this particular Psalm was stated by people right before they traveled.

As they would travel, because traveling had such dangers and risks to it, it was not like traveling as it is today, where many people, most people, had to travel by foot. There were many dangers, pitfalls, traps, and predators along the journey. What this Psalm is really all about is talking about how God’s presence will get them through the journey, that He’ll protect them, watch over them, keep them, keep their foot from being moved, and preserve them even forever. As they go out and as they come in, God’s got them covered on the journey. I believe God’s given me this word this weekend because somebody needs to know that you’re covered on the journey. Even though you’re on a journey and a path that may be difficult, and I don’t even know what you’re headed towards, see, sometimes it’s not just a geographical journey; sometimes it’s a project journey. Some of you are supposed to be finishing a project, or some of you are supposed to be writing something, or some of you are supposed to be starting something. It may be a ministry; it may be an enterprise. I don’t know what it is, but one thing I can guarantee is that you have opposition. I can guarantee you drama is popping off, and the devil is bothering you, and there’s tension and conflict because opposition is bound to come. You should expect that.

What God is saying in this passage is that even though you may have tension, conflict, and difficulties, I will help you with your journey. He’s going to protect you; He’s going to preserve you; He’s going to cover you; He’s going to keep you; He’s going to watch over you. I pray that for all the people that concern you—the people you love—He’s going to protect them, preserve them, and watch over them; He’s going to see about them and keep them safe. God’s going to do it for everybody connected to you, and that’s why connection is very important. I’ll get to this in a moment, but every blessing that was on the individual in this Psalm was also on the nation of Israel because just as God doesn’t sleep on Israel, He doesn’t sleep on individuals. So it is vital who you’re connected to because the individual Israelites received blessings because they were connected to the nation of Israel. Sometimes you get blessed by association; that’s why you need to be careful about who you’re associated with. What tribe are you with? What nation are you with?

The way God feels about Israel is similar to the way He feels about the church. God died for the church; He gave gifts to the church; He’s coming back to get the church and rapture the church. The church is a very vital part and object of His love, and it is important to be a part of His family because just being part of His family as an individual grants you access to corporate blessings. Now, in this passage, there are five things I want to point out. The first is this matter in verse one and the first part of verse two: «I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord.» The first thing I want to point out is that these travelers were praying. When it says, «I will lift up» or «I lift up my eyes,» I lift up my eyes to the mountains, and then he says, «I go beyond that,» because where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord.