Preparation: Part 1

Choosing Preparation

Tonight at Fusion, we talked about how preparation can be something that we choose. In the middle of pain and struggles, we can still choose to be prepared for God to do something in the midst of it. In fact, it can be this choice which opens our eyes to see the bigger picture of what God is doing.

In our busy lives, it can be so easy to forget about what God is doing and what He is going to do. This was just as true 2900 years ago for the Israelites. Yet, every year they would travel together to the temple in Jerusalem for feasts and ceremonies. Jerusalem sits atop a mountain range between two valleys, and journeying to this place was always an uphill climb. As the Israelites ascended to the city and to the temple, their minds would be full of typical day to day stuff; the things that can so often blind us from seeing God. So, they began to quote scripture. Psalm 120-134, titled "the songs of ascent," would be a reminder of what God had done and a preparation for what He had yet to do.


The songs of ascent are an excellent reminder for us of what happens when we choose preparation... we become expectant.

Psalm 121:2 "My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and the earth."

Psalm 124:8 "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and the earth."

Psalm 130:7 "O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love and plentiful redemption."

Psalm 134:2 "Lift up your hands to the Holy place and bless the Lord!"