Psalm 121 "Omni-grip"

Psalm for Today = 121:3-4

³He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

Comments:

I love this psalm. I have commented on it about six times now. Verse 3 reminds me of my late pastor’s book, God Works the Night Shift. There are times when we come to realize that the world’s solutions  can’t help our situation (v.1-2) but we are forced to turn to the Lord. Isn’t it comforting to know that He is always there? I don't have to call during regular business hours!

However, the phrase that caught my attention today was the first part of verse 3, which says, “He will not let your foot be moved…” Did you ever have dreams as a child of slipping and not being able to stop or of trying to run but not being able to get any traction? I was working on my roof last weekend and twice stepped back onto an extension cord that rolled under my foot like a marble. My son thought he was going to have to tackle me to the roof to keep me from falling off the edge!

This section, verse 3-4 reminds me of something that happened when I was in China in 2011. One day went see the sights and climb a steep a section of the Great Wall. We started up from the parking lot with the crowds looking up to the fortification at the top. Thankfully the going was slow for the first third of the way to what we thought was the top. This section of the wall ascended like a stair and the rise on each step varied drastically, though most steps were tall 12” to 18” each. Reaching the building we could see the wall climbing again for we were only at the 1/3 mark. It was there that most of the crowds turned back. We decided to continue all the way to the top. While waiting for the last of our group (I won’t name you!) to catch up and finish the climb it began to rain. To make things worse, now our legs began to shake as a result of waiting after the long climb. Now we not only had to climb down, but we had to do it with shaking legs in the rain. I was wearing some new outdoor shoes (I had purchased from our local Columbia Sportswear outlet before leaving for China) which had a pretty aggressive traction sole that the label trumpeted as “Omni-grip.” I decided this was a great opportunity to give “Omni-grip” a test climbing down the Great Wall in a rainstorm.



Second Part of our Climb

As we started down (a different way for a change of scenery) several people had to cling to the handrail and sing praise songs to take their minds off their shaking legs and the scary height as they were descending. I found going slowly actually made it harder so I began to run down the wall only lightly touching every third to sixth step. I can’t remember a time when I was ever more focused on my next step! What took almost three hours to climb up only took me about 15 minutes to run down. While I am thankful the shoes performed well providing traction on the rain-soaked and dirty steps of the Wall, I am even more thankful that God provides the “Omni-grip” for my whole life, 24/7 and his grip doesn’t wear out like the tread on my shoes!

It is a loving God who keeps me from slipping! His power keeps me, his grace strengthens me, his peace calms me, his word guides me…

What would you add from your own experience?