Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
A couple of weeks ago I went on a mission trip to Progresso Yucatan, Mexico. Overall, it was a very positive trip, and it blessed my life greatly. Now getting there was a different story, my trip slowly turned into an odyssey as I missed a flight, got a flight cancelled, my voucher for my hotel in Mexico City could not be redeemed, and in the final leg of the trip my ticked got double booked, and almost missed the flight. As I faced these setbacks, I kept thinking that maybe I should just go home. I asked myself the question, “Where does my help come from?” the answer was simple “My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth” So, I did the only thing one can do in such a situation, and that is to pray.
I prayed for God to show me the purpose of the situation I was facing, I prayed for protection, and to stay calm. Because it is not fun to be stuck in Mexico City airport overnight. As I prayed, I felt the peace of God over me, and as that peace settle in, I was reminded that the one that Guards Israel does not slumber or sleeps and He is the same one that guards me, so I should not worry, He has everything under control.
After a long night and four lattes later, which contained an unhealthy amount of extra espresso shots, which is something that any sane person should do. I finally arrived at Merida for the final drive to Progresso. I faced one last set back; the hotel had cancelled my reservation. After finding a different hotel fairly quickly to my surprise, I was ready to be part of God’s story in Progresso.
The following days were of great blessings to my life, as I got to witness people come to Christ, people rededicate their lives, and families come to genuine reconciliation. In the middle of this wonderful events, I still felt that there was something missing. Finally on Saturday I was able to see the big picture of why I faced such an odyssey. On that day as I got to share with the youth, four of them decided to follow Jesus, now this is important because this event was originally schedule for Wednesday, and had I arrived on schedule these four youth would have missed the event because they would not have been there that day.
Now if everything that I faced was for this moment, so that a group of teens could find Jesus. Then the odyssey was worth it, and I am blessed for having the privilege to experience this chapter in God’s story. I am truly blessed to have found comfort in the words of this Psalm, as I trusted and believed God’s word in the middle of the uncertainty of my trip and how he watches over our lives.
“The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.”
Thank you, God, for this trip and the blessings it has poured over my life, thank you for the opportunity to be part of your story in Progresso Yucatan. Thank you for the beautiful family of God that I got to meet, blessed them and open future opportunities for our Familia of faith in Weslaco to experience such blessings, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Luis.