January 8-12

In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. – Psalms 120:1-2 ESV

When Life Gets You Down, Look Up!
Many of the world’s greatest souls became their best selves because of their distress. The great hymn writer Cowper wrote hopeful hymns and the great artist Van Gogh brushed epic paintings while contemplating suicide. Charles Spurgeon preached some of his best sermons while depressed. Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and Martin Luther King Jr. battled melancholy. The great composer Beethoven went deaf. C.S. Lewis buried his wife after a short, cancer-ridden marriage. Elie Wiesel and Corrie Ten Boom survived the holocaust. Joni Eareckson Tada lost her ability to walk in a tragic accident. John Perkins endured jail, beatings, and death threats from white supremacists. (Preaching Today)

King David finds himself in distress in Psalm 120. People around him are lying and attacking his character and his kingdom. This is what’s causing the Psalmist distress. Because David was maligned, slandered, misrepresented, and deceived he had no comfort or peace. As a result, David looked up to God.

Reflection
God is always at work, even in our distress. What was one thing that stood out to you from Pastor Jim’s sermon this Sunday? Have you gone to God when you felt verbally attacked?

Praise/Prayer
Praise God for His presence and promise to be at work in your troubles. Look up and share your troubles with God today.

In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. – Psalms 120:1-2 ESV

In Times of Distress, Look to the Lord
A long time ago, a little old lady used to go to Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. She was 4’11” and was in her nineties. She had a ministry of traveling around the country speaking and encouraging churches. She drove an old, old Cadillac. When she was speaking in a church in Texas, a fellow came up to her at the end of the service and told her that he owned a fleet of tow trucks and service stations across the country. He gave her his card and offered free auto service anywhere she went. If she had any trouble all she had to do was call him and he’d send out someone to help her. She handed him back the card and said “thank you” but “no”. She knew there might be times when she would call and get a busy signal or perhaps the fellow wouldn’t be home. She had learned to trust in the Lord to take care of her. He was always there to help. And she intended to keep on trusting in the Lord.

This is what the Psalmist does when he is faced with difficult people in his life. He calls God first in prayer. God often uses people to help us get through our troubles but He always wants us to start by looking up to Him for help first.

Reflection
Who do you typically call first when you are having a bad day? Make a conscious effort to take any trouble you face today to God first.

Praise/Prayer
Praise God for being a first responder in your life. Confess the times when you have made God a last resort instead of your first call.

What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue?  A warrior's sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree! – Psalm 120:3-4 ESV

In Times of Difficulty, Lean on the Lord
Fury, a movie set mostly in a World War Two era, was based on the name of a tank by the same name. In the waning days of the war, as American soldiers flood into Germany, a group of GIs are exposed and pinned down by German fire, helpless to do anything but wait. Suddenly, “Fury” and a pair of other tanks break through and advance, guns thundering away at the German positions. Do the GIs rise and charge ahead, side-by-side with the tanks? No! They simply roll to where the tanks are, slide in behind them, and move ahead, letting the tanks do all the work, letting the tanks do what they were designed to do.

In Psalm 120:4, David calls in God to fight his battle. David warns his enemies of “a warrior’s sharp arrows.” This is an answer to the question in Psalms 120:3. Those arrows were, of course, sharpened to make them piercing, penetrating, more deadly. David simply leaned on the Lord when life got tough.

Reflection
Think of some words to compare your power to God’s power and God’s ability to fight your battles to your ability.

Praise/Prayer
Praise God as your Mighty Warrior. Thank Him for the battles He has fought for you. Confess your trust in Him to lead the way for you.

Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war! – Psalm 120:5-7 ESV

In Times of Disappointment, Live for the Lord
Have you ever been a long, long way from home and going through a tough time? What did your heart want to do? Most likely, you wanted to be home so badly you could taste it.

The psalmist is a long way from home in Psalm 120. He cries out in verse 5, “Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!” Now these two places refer to peoples that lived in the far north above Israel or way down in the Arabian Peninsula. He was physically far from home living with people who were spiritually far from his home. Yet, he was trying to promote God’s peace(v.7) by living for the Lord while he was there.

Reflection
If you’re honest with yourselves and honest before God, you know all too well what it’s like to be spiritually discouraged. What are some ways you can continue to live for God that you heard in the sermon on Sunday?

Praise/Prayer
Praise God for promising you a place in His family and in His home in heaven someday. Ask God to show you how He wants you to live in a world that is trying to pull you away from His peace.

Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! – Psalm 120:5 ESV

When Life Gets You Down, Sing!
Have you ever gone on a road trip and put together a playlist or mix of songs for the journey? That’s what the Psalms of Ascent are. Psalm 120-134 are short, easy to memorize, and meant to be sung in praise and worship to God. The psalmist is traveling through Meshech and living in a tent in Kedar.

You will notice that all these psalms share this common inscription: “A song of ascents.” The word “ascents” there is a word that means “steps” or “going up.” One of the reasons they are called Psalms of Ascent is because these are psalms that were sung by Jews traveling up to Jerusalem for the three annual feasts. They were moving physically to higher ground and spiritually to a higher place.

Reflection
As a Christian, you are also on a journey – not on a literal journey to Jerusalem, of course, but rather a spiritual journey. What songs have encouraged your heart in seasons of discouragement?

Praise/Prayer
Praise God in song today. Play your favorite hymn or Christian song and sing along in praise to God.