Faith Lens: Songs for the Climb
Faith Lens is a weekly Bible study that engages youth and young adults in connecting world events with the Bible, faith, and everyday life.
Prepare
This well-known psalm is a song about the pilgrimage to Jerusalem the Israelites would have taken multiple times per year. I would caution leaders (including myself) against assuming that our youth/young adults know this psalm. Depending on the rhythms and practices of your congregation, they might. But, in my experience with youth/young adults, Psalm 121 is more of a “that sounds familiar” kind of recognition, not something they are able to recite all the way through. Nevertheless, this psalm is intended to carry one through a long and difficult journey, making it very helpful for any of us to know as we navigate the world.
The pilgrimage journey of returning to a place where you know you will meet God is reflected in the structure of the psalm. That makes reciting or singing the psalm itself a pilgrimage, returning us to what we know about who God is and where God shows up in the world (with those in sticky, terrifying, impossible situations, and also with each of us).
This psalm names the fear of the psalmist’s current situation: the journey they are in the middle of is scary and difficult. The hills in question are likely both a nod to the landscape along the journey of their pilgrimage and also a metaphor for the large challenges ahead of them. The middle section of this psalm is both a statement of trust in God and a request. “God will not let your foot be moved” is a statement of trust in God’s power and care for those singing the psalm. It is also a plea to God that God would continue to provide stability and safety for those on this treacherous journey.
Opening Exercise
Is there a song or an artist that you listen to when you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed? If so, what about that song/artist comforts you? If not, what do you do to comfort yourself when life feels overwhelming?
Read Aloud
A familiar song for the soul’s journey—lifting our eyes, finding help, and trusting the rhythm of God’s care along the way.
Songs for the Climb
One of my favorite indie artists, Marielle Kraft, has a song about navigating difficulties in life. This line gets stuck in my head over and over again:
“Future pebbles are present boulders, it’s a moment, not forever, we’ll make it through together.”
Marielle’s song is about a romance in her life and the courage she finds to overcome difficulty because she is in a loving relationship.
Originally, the Psalms were sung as songs, and sometimes still are today. This makes them great at getting stuck in our heads whether we like it or not. While Psalm 121 focuses on our relationships with God, the message that whatever challenges we are currently facing will become much smaller in the future with the perspective of having made it through a difficult time, stands. Psalm 121 starts with an acknowledgement that there are “hills”, or difficulties, in life that face us head on. The Psalm continues then to point us towards God’s power when we feel weak or unable to accomplish something on our own. Verses 3-8 all repeat the same idea: God is powerful enough that we don’t need to worry about whatever scares us.
Verse 8 says God will keep us in our going out and coming in, declaring God present in each aspect of our day. Do you go to school, work, or a friend’s house? God is there, blessing those actions.
Of course, we all know that danger doesn’t stop at our doors. Plenty of hurt can happen in our homes through broken relationships and the power of the internet. It can feel as though we aren’t safe anywhere.
The psalm tells us that God will keep us from all evil. Oftentimes, we can see how we are protected from hurt or pain or discrimination or other forms of evil in the world. And sometimes the world looks evil, and we can have a difficult time seeing God. This psalm is both a declaration of God’s goodness and a prayer. The psalmist is trusting that God will be with them and comfort them no matter what happens, AND they are asking God to protect them from evil in the future. This psalm shares the same hope we find in Christ, that God will not abandon us even on our worst day. God keeping us from evil is God sitting with us on our darkest day and by being present with us, not allowing the darkness or difficulty of life to overcome us.
It is because we know God is with us whether our life is perfect or a total mess that we can declare “My help comes from the Lord.” We pray that truth, like the song or artist we turn to, is what gets stuck in our heads next time life feels overwhelming.
Reflection Questions
In Psalm 121, what does the author need God to protect them from?
Why do you think the Israelites sang their prayers in this way?
Do we still sing our faith/prayers today? How might it be helpful to do so?
What might change about how we face overwhelming/difficult situations if we always remembered and trusted that God was with us?
Closing Activity
Have folks write out their own Psalm 121, following the structure of naming something overwhelming and listing ways they need God to protect them.
If your congregation has a song or two that the youth enjoy singing, sing those songs together! Remind them of God’s presence with music and send them into their weeks with that truth stuck in their heads. Some suggestions:
“I Lift my Eyes” by Ellie Holcomb,
The Doxology
“Waymaker” by Leeland
Final Prayer
Prayer of Good Courage:
O God, you have called your servants
to ventures of which we cannot see the ending,
by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.
Give us faith to go out with good courage,
not knowing where we go,
but only that your hand is leading us
and your love supporting us,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bio of the Author
Lindsay Batesmith is the pastor of Rejoice Lutheran Church in Erie, CO. She is consistently in awe of the power of vulnerability to connect us to each other and invite the Holy Spirit to transform lives. When not at Church or her favorite coffee shop, Lindsay is usually playing with her dog, Echo, or watching the Great British Bake Off with her wife, Tillie.
