Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read 2 Kings 23, Zephaniah 3, and Psalms 124-126. This devotional is about Psalm 125. Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved. It abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore. For the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to injustice. Do good, O Lord, to those who are good and to the upright in heart. But those who turn to crooked ways, the Lord will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel. This is God's Word. Right now, in the days in which we live, there are vocal critics of the Christian faith, or actually of any religious faith of any kind. Those who hold to a secular, agnostic, or atheist viewpoint sometimes say that we believers are weak, fearful, and, at times, even stupid. The assumption of many with this outlook is that you and I can't handle life on our own. So we believe in God, not because God really exists, but to make us feel better, enough to cope with the problems of life. Psalm 125 makes the opposite claim. It says, those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken, but endures forever. That's verse one in the NIV. The psalm then compares faith in the God of the Bible to the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built on a hill, so its foundation is solid and stable. Jerusalem is surrounded by hills too, which forms a natural defense against surprise attacks. Verse two builds on this surrounded by hills image when it says, as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore. And again, that's verse two in the NIV. So then according to Psalm 125, if you believe in God, the God of scripture, Your life is built on a stable, eternally enduring platform, with God himself surrounding you for defense. That sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Verse 3, though, begins with a minor concession, it says. Now, a scepter is a king's tool, a symbol of his power and authority. And so verse 3 is saying that wicked people may rule over us at times. But if our hope is in the Lord, the wicked will not rule over us forever. Verses 4 and 5 call on God to reward those who are good and righteous, according to verse 4, and punish those who do evil. That's in verse 5. The psalm ends by saying, peace be on Israel. When God is honored and exalted, when people trust in him, there will be peace. Ultimately, the success of the righteous, the punishment of the wicked, and the peace of God's people all await us in eternity. But in the midst of uncertain times, your faith in God will stabilize and protect you in this life and into eternity. The non-believer is the one who is weak, fearful, and foolish. The unbeliever may assume that things will never change, but he can't really count on that. The unbeliever may take pride in his abilities, but his abilities may fail or be overwhelmed by someone with greater ability and evil intent. The unbeliever will die, and according to his own worldview, his life will end and not last forever. But he can't know whether there is or isn't life after death. And when he dies, what he'll actually find out is that he'll meet a righteous God and answer for his life. Far from being a refuge for the weak, then, faith in God is our stability, our strength, our defense. If you're facing uncertain circumstances, or even certain pain and suffering, let your faith in God strengthen you today. Trust in the Lord and be like Jerusalem, unshakable forever with your foundation and surrounded by God's defense. If you found this devotional helpful, go to my website, dailypbj.com slash subscribe, and enter your email address there to receive a free email subscription. Then every day from then on, you'll receive an email from me in the morning containing a link to the daily scripture reading so you can be reading God's word every day, cued by the email. And that same email will contain a link to my daily devotional. in audio, video, and transcript form so I can help you apply God's Word to your life every day. This is completely free and you can always unsubscribe. So there's no risk. Give it a try. Go to dailypbj.com slash subscribe. And please consider becoming a financial supporter if you're able to so I can keep making more content like this and maybe reach more people with God's Word. Go to dailypbj.com slash support for more information about that. And you could also share this devotional with someone else who might be helped by it, and that might help me grow my subscriber base. So please consider sharing it with someone else. I hope you have a great day today. May God bless you. See you next time.