Psalm 122 - "Days of Elijah"

Psalm 122 reads....

1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
    in your gates, Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem is built like a city
    that is closely compacted together.
4 That is where the tribes go up—
    the tribes of the Lord—
to praise the name of the Lord
    according to the statute given to Israel.
5 There stand the thrones for judgment,
    the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
    “May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
    and security within your citadels.”
8 For the sake of my family and friends,
    I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
    I will seek your prosperity.

I have read this Psalm many times but after being in Jerusalem it has taken on a deeper meaning. I stood at the Wailing Wall and prayed not only for the peace of Jerusalem but for peace throughout the world. I prayed for people who believed in something other than Christ to come to the truth. I prayed for the Lord to use me in a mighty way for as long as I have breathe.

As we stood in the area of the gate where Jesus will return I was overwhelmed with being there. As you look across the way to see the Garden of Gethsemane it can be overwhelming to think about the Lord's last days on this earth. As you think of His return it also can be overwhelming. He died in order for us to live. God sacrificed His Son so we could live. But the story doesn't stop there. Not only did Jesus die for us but most importantly He rose again and once again it was so we could live.

I am so ready for His return. The words to "Days of Elijah" now have a new picture for me as I have been to the place He will return to. To sit and write in that place was such a blessing. To soak in all the history of the Holy Land was awesome but the "icing on the cake" was to think of His return. 

Someone said on our first day to concentrate on the now and not the then. It can be a bit overwhelming with all of the history of the Holy Land. History is good but we need to make sure we are living today in a way that our future will be spending eternity with the Lord.

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for loving me...for caring for me...for blessing me. You are so awesome Lord! I also thank You for waking me at 4AM to pray for a friend and her family. Lord, I don't know what they are going through but it doesn't matter because You do. I praise You for giving me this privilege. I also praise You for the privilege to pray at the Wailing Wall. I praise You for giving me opportunities to journal throughout my time in Israel. Many times I was too physically tired to write. I pray You will bring things back to me that I thought of but didn't have the opportunity to write about. Lord, I need more of You and less of me in order to do Your will. I know sometimes I get down about what I can't do but Lord please remind me of all that I can do. Thank You Jesus for being The One I Anxiously Await To Return. Amen.