Today we’re sharing an excerpt from Lifeway’s devotional Fighting Words by Ellie Holcomb. Learn more about this Fighting Words here!
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where 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 (ESV)
I’ve been singing this verse to comfort my heart in times of trouble for years now. When the melody first came to me, I was volunteering to sing at a camp in Colorado, with an organization that I love called Young Life. We were a new family of five, our precious baby boy was nine months old, and we were all serving together for two weeks. We have volunteered countless summers at Young Life camps, and I have always loved connecting with kids from all over the country; but with our three kiddos in tow, I felt completely pulled in every direction, trying to manage all of our responsibilities with our musical roles at the camp, meeting and connecting with hundreds of campers each week, while also trying to spend quality time with our kids—not to mention nursing a baby. I was stretched thin.
Have you ever been in those “thin” places—the ones where you feel pulled between so many things, you’re failing to do any one thing well? This was me. I felt like a terrible mom, a distracted conversationalist with high school kids, and a forgetful musician who kept missing lyrics and playing wrong chords. I had rushed back to our room to pump so the babysitter could feed our boy during the concert later that night, and I found myself crying while doing so. I was exhausted, and I felt like a failure. It was in this very low moment that I happened to glance out the window. Surrounding the camp were absolutely 240 beautiful mountains, summer-green with snow-capped tops. They stretched up into the bluebird sky, and all of the sudden this beautiful verse came to mind. I started to sing a melody to these words that immediately began to slow my tears and lower my heart rate:
“I lift my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?”
I was in an emotional valley, feeling keenly aware of my “not enough,” but as I stared at those beautiful mountains, I was reminded of who made them, of who made me. I was also reminded of who was with me, even in the places where I felt stretched thin, too weak for the journey ahead. I certainly felt like I had some mountains to scale in my life during that season. I was managing a career, the transition to three kids, as well as walking through some heartache with dear friends of ours, but as I lifted my eyes to the literal hills around me that afternoon, God was so kind to remind me that I don’t ever have to walk through valleys or climb mountains alone.
There is a Companion who watches over us, a tender Shepherd who guides, leads, carries, and loves us through every low place and every difficult climb. God is an incredible caregiver, and His love never slumbers or sleeps. We may get exhausted. We may get stretched thin. But He never grows too tired or too weary to take care of His children. What a gift!
This truth means that we can rest, knowing we are held in the everlasting arms of the One who made us and knows us best. His arms can hold all the things we feel responsible to carry. His arms can catch all the balls we drop and carry all the burdens that are simply too heavy for us along the way. He knows the path and can guide us upward. He’s so near, even in the depths of the deepest valleys. When the climb is steep and feels scary, He watches over us and won’t let our feet slip. God, who made the mountains, knows the way up from the valley. He knows the way down too, and this is one of the most powerful things I have experienced in my life. In EVERY valley I’ve ever walked through, every hollowed-out, grieving, dark, and lonely place, I’ve encountered the kindness and love of God leading me through the darkness of a lowly valley and then back up again toward the light.
Sometimes it takes being in a valley for me to see the mountains of grace that surround. Sometimes it takes coming to the end of my rope, to the end of my resources, to the end of myself, to get to the beginning of God’s endless love and strength. Sometimes it takes my head bent low with exhaustion, fear, or grief to know the comfort of the hand of God, gently lifting my chin so I can behold the power of the gospel even in my deepest losses, darkest nights, and steepest climbs. Oh God, help me remember, especially on the valley days when I feel overwhelmed by the journey ahead of me, to lift my eyes to the hills and remember where my help comes from.
- What valleys are you walking through, or what metaphorical mountains (challenges or troubles) are you facing right now?
- I SO often forget that I can carry my burdens and worries and failures to God. Is it easy or hard for you to ask for help when you feel stretched thin? Why?
- Can you think of a time when you felt that your foot was slipping and you were met by the stable hands of God? If so, write it down to remind yourself of the help God has given you in the past. If not, ask God to come now and steady your steps.
Prayer: Oh God, steady companion, when I feel overwhelmed and weary, remind me to be quick to lift my eyes to the hills and remember that You are my kind and constant Keeper. Oh, Maker of mountains and stars, of hills and valleys, help me remember the whole world was made by Your Word and is held in Your hands. When I am in the valley places, give me the vision to see Your unshakable love supporting me. Thank You for walking beside me, and for always being there to catch me with arms of mercy and grace when it feels like my feet are about to slip. Thank You that I know where my help comes from. Help me rest as I remember that Your love never slumbers or sleeps.
Excerpted with permission from Fighting Words Devotional: Expanded Limited Edition by Ellie Holcomb. Copyright 2024, B&H Publishing.
This highly giftable limited edition of Fighting Words Devotional by Ellie Holcomb includes 10 new devotionals. Learn more about Fighting Words at lifeway.com.