Psalm 121 - Look Up!
Christ is the Crutch We Need
Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved, he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” — Psalm 121:1–4
I think there is something really simple and honest with the Psalmist’s opening question: From where does my help come? Most of us, if we are being completely honest, carry this question in our hearts. The question within us is often silent but we carry it with us through the ordinary difficulties of each day. And the answer the Psalmist gives is not some lengthy theological diatribe. No, it is a quiet and confident declaration–my help comes from the Lord.
I remember a dear Dominican priest who closed every meeting with those exact words. He would quietly exclaim, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Perhaps today, we can say the same when we finish a particular task or find something difficult to start. It is a stark and gentle reminder that everything we carry, everything we face, rests in hands far more capable than our own.
The Psalms of Ascent were written for pilgrims who were journeying to Jerusalem. The roads were long and unsafe. Weariness sets in. Dangers lurked. The pilgrim would eventually succumb to exhaustion and sleep, God would not. “He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”
This is no small comfort. We know from the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel how cruelly the prophets of Baal were mocked: “Where is your god? Perhaps he is sleeping. Perhaps he has wandered off” (cf. 1 Kings 18:27). Isn’t the contrast striking? The gods of this world — the idols we sometimes construct from our anxieties and our plans — they cannot watch over us. They are, in the end, powerless and inattentive.
God is not absent. He is not silent. Though it may feel at times He is in hiding and the heavens have gone quiet, He is asking us to “look up.” (Psalm 121:1)
Psalm 139 appeared in Evening Prayer yesterday. Something about today’s Psalm brought it to mind.
“Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” — Psalm 139:7–10
God is in the heights. He is in the depths. In the morning. In the very edges of the sea. He holds us with a firm and tender grip. He will not let go. Psalm 121 affirms this truth from a different angle: the God who made heaven and earth is the same God who watches over your small, simple life. This is not an abstraction. It is a fact meant to settle something deep within us.
Christ Is the Crutch We Need
Have you ever sprained or twisted your ankle? You know the pain and frustration. The slightest weight on that foot sends pain shooting through you. A walking boot, a crutch, a steadying arm becomes everything in those moments. You cannot get far without help, and you know it.
Perhaps this is not such a bad image for the Christian life. We are pilgrims on a road, and the road is sometimes rough. There are days when we limp. There are seasons when we cannot bear full weight on our own strength. Christ is not standing at a distance and asking us to deal with it ourselves. No, He offers Himself. It may seem sentimental and cliche, but He is the crutch we lean on. And there is no shame in that. It is precisely when we acknowledge our need that His help becomes most real to us. My help comes from the Lord. May this reminder be the first and constant truth of this Lenten pilgrimage.
Whatever your road looks like ahead, I encourage you to “lift up your eyes.” Christ has not wandered off. He has not grown weary. He is watching over you, right now, with a love that does not sleep.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
© 2026, Lawain McNeil, Mission Surrender, LLC.
Such a comforting devo to ponder on and reflect on daily. Thanks, Lawain!
Beautiful!