Restful Words for Labor Day
I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 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! Psalm 121
At the time of writing this article, Labor Day is about a week away. And you need to know at the outset that I have mixed feelings about Labor Day – our national holiday that is over 100 years old. In some ways I truly look forward to this day when just about everyone takes off work as a tribute to the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. But over the years, it has evolved from a purely labor union celebration. Today it is recognized perhaps even more so as the unofficial end of the summer season. In the northern half of the U.S. at least, summer vacation season begins with Memorial Day and ends with Labor Day. It signals “back to school” time. Many colleges and some secondary and elementary schools begin classes immediately after Labor Day. Even though Labor Day is a day to take off work, every Labor Day seems to shout out: “Summer fun-time is over. It’s time to get back to work!”
I don’t know if you’re like me, but I just hate to see summer come to an end. Maybe that’s why so many people want to get in one last fling of summer on this weekend. It seems everyone is out of town. People are traveling to their cabins – to the lake. State parks and campgrounds are all quite busy on Labor Day as vacationers take one last advantage of the waning “hot” season. It’s why mysteriously gas prices seem to rise dramatically in the days surrounding this national holiday – because everybody’s traveling.
So maybe as Jackie Gleason used to say, a little “traveling music” would be appropriate for this weekend. And Psalm 121 is just about the perfect traveling song of sorts as we prepare for all the fall activities. Psalms 121 comes from a section of psalms known as the Songs of Ascent. These fifteen psalms were sung by pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem during the great feast days of ancient Israel.
And they were a comfort to these travelers. As they journeyed through unfamiliar surroundings and territory, they had the precious promises that their Almighty God was with them every step of the way. When they looked to the hills and the many possible dangerous encounters they could have with robbers and thieves who could conceal themselves there, they had the comfort that their help came from the Lord – a Lord who watched out for them – a Lord who would work everything out for their good.
Of course, when we look to the hills outside Jerusalem today, we can picture a time when three crosses stood on one of them. We are reminded of a Savior who worked out everything for our salvation there – who offered his perfect life as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Maybe this Labor Day you are doing some traveling of your own – moving away from home for the first time to a new college campus. Maybe you are becoming empty nesters for the first time in your life and you are not sure how you will handle it – if you will become the dreaded “helicopter parents” or not. Maybe this Fall brings about a job transfer where you are called upon to journey far from the family members you love. And maybe this Fall God will call one of those family members to a heavenly home and you will miss them terribly in this life. Whatever the journey, you can truly sing this traveling song: “The Lord will keep me from all evil; He will keep my life.” The Lord will keep my going out and my coming in from this time on and forevermore,” because those are restful words not only for Labor Day…but for everyday!
Pastor Rod Pudell
