Pastor Karen began a new series on the Pilgrimage Psalms, diving into chapters 120 – 134. Would you walk back to your own Memory Lane of high school and remember studying Shakespeare? I remember struggling with the language and literary devices used in Old English. It can be challenging but also rewarding when it’s studied slowly and in increments. When we read the Psalms without knowing the context (time period and literary nuances), we can miss a lot. For the next few months, we’ll go deep and see some of the profound truths being communicated. We know that everything we learn from the Old Testament is pointing toward Jesus. For example, in the OT there is so much said about the temple, a physical building. In the New Testament Jesus talked about the temple being Himself. He’s the cornerstone that holds it all together.
Last week we read 15 Psalms during our service. Imagine being part of a monastic group that recited all 150 chapters of Psalms DAILY.
This week Karen preached from Psalm 120. The Pilgrim psalmist is feeling alienated and wronged. He is crying out to God in praise, prayer, and protest. Karen invited us to look at the passage in reverse: The pilgrim is possibly homesick and feeling like an alien – finding himself in a place he didn’t belong. In verses 5-7 he pours out his heart, telling God of his distress. Then he turns to God in prayer – crying out to God to rescue him from his emotional pain (of betrayal and trauma). Instead of receiving hospitality, he has received hostility. God is on the side of those who have been mistreated. The pilgrim’s prayer propels him to praise. God heard and responded to his cries.
We’ve all been there – feeling misunderstood and alone. God allows us to pour out our heart as he listens intently. He responds and enters the sorrow with us. He strengthens us as we long to enter the shalom of God. When we pray, “Come Holy Spirit,” we ask him to remind us that He is here, with us, and for us.
God invites us to cry out to Him, to seek Him in our prayers, and to rejoice in Him as a response to His tender care.
I pray this Psalm reminds us to take our trials and challenges to God. Jesus walked among us and understands our humanness. This week when things aren’t going our way, let’s remember to look up to the One who loves and cares for us more than we can even imagine.
With you on the journey,
Jim Roberson
Pastoral Care Team, Liberty Vineyard Church
(678) 469-8156
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