Tag: Promises

Mountains – Psalm 121:1-8

I want to live like someone who can’t lose. Not in a naive or reckless way, but in the way that this Psalm describes. Putting myself in situations where I genuinely need God to come through, and then trusting that he will.

“The Lord will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life. The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever.” — Psalm 121:7-8 (HCSB)

In one of the Lord of the Rings movies there is a siege of the castle where the good guys are sheltered. They are completely surrounded. Outnumbered. The evil forces are increasingly forcing their way inside. All hope seems gone. And then, from the mountains above, a blinding light appears with an army that sweeps down and turns the whole battle around. It’s one of the most visually striking moments in the whole trilogy. And for some reason, that’s exactly the picture that comes to mind when I read the opening verse of Psalm 121, especially knowing the kind of situations David found himself in throughout his life.

But the thing David says next. It isn’t something from the mountains themselves that save him. There might be an army up there. But the help comes from God. The maker of heaven and earth. Not a general, or some great military strategy, or even a fortunate turn of events. It’s God himself. And then the Psalm goes on to pile up this extraordinary list of assurances. He doesn’t sleep, he doesn’t wander off, he is watching over you constantly, right now, and forever. You are not alone. I am not alone.

I’ll be honest though, this Psalm also raises a hard question that I can’t just skip over. Throughout history, there have been Christians who looked to the mountains and the army didn’t come. They were persecuted. They died. They suffered in ways that may seem completely at odds with the promises in these verses. I don’t have a great answer to that. It’s one of those things I hold with open hands and a lot of questions. I just know that I have to keep clinging to God even when the answers aren’t there, and trust that his protection operates on a scale that I can’t always see from where I’m standing.

I want to live like someone who can’t lose. Not in a naive or reckless way, but in the way that this Psalm describes. Putting myself in situations where I genuinely need God to come through, and then trusting that he will. It’s not thrill-seeking, but a different way to make decisions from how most people operate. It means leaning into the calling even when the outcome isn’t guaranteed from a human perspective, because the ultimate outcome already is.

God will protect our coming and going, the Psalm says. Both now and forever. That’s a big promise to stand on. I’m choosing to stand on it. How about you?

Asking for Wisdom — James 1:5–8

James 1:5 (NIV)
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

James speaks plainly to believers who are facing difficulty and uncertainty. In those moments, what they most need is wisdom. But James quickly adds an important condition. The request must come with faith. The person who asks while doubting is described as unstable, like a wave driven and tossed by the wind. The issue is not whether questions arise in our minds, it is whether we actually trust God’s promises enough to rely on them.

That tension is familiar. It is easy to pray for wisdom and guidance while simultaneously building our own backup plan in case God does not come through. In that sense, we may believe that God can help, but we do not fully expect Him to. Faith is something deeper than that. It is not merely believing a chair could hold our weight. Faith is actually sitting in it and trusting that it will hold, with no backup plan.

This passage exposes a common struggle. When uncertainty appears, many of us respond with frenetic energy—trying to force solutions, control outcomes, or manufacture clarity through sheer effort. Initiative can be good, but sometimes it becomes a substitute for trusting God. We move so quickly that we never truly wait for His wisdom.

James calls for a steadier posture. Ask God for wisdom. Expect Him to give it. And resist the urge to solve everything ourselves before He has the chance to act. The challenge is not passivity, but trust—the kind that believes God will do what He has promised.