Why Following Jesus Was Never Meant to Be Solo
- Thad DeBuhr
- 4 minutes ago
- 11 min read
Study Guide: Psalm 122
There are some trips that are simply better when you are not making them alone.
Imagine taking a long road trip by yourself. At first, you may enjoy the quiet. You choose the music, stop when you want, and nobody complains about your driving. But after enough miles, the road starts feeling different. You get tired. There is nobody to talk with, nobody to help when something goes wrong, and nobody beside you to enjoy the view when you finally get somewhere worth seeing.
Now imagine making that same trip with people you care about. Somebody brings snacks. Somebody tells stories. Somebody notices when you are getting tired. You laugh together, solve problems together, and eventually somebody spots the destination and says, “There it is!”
The destination may be exactly the same, but the journey is completely different because you did not make it alone.
That is a good way to enter Psalm 122.
SETTING THE SCENE:
Psalm 122 is the third of the fifteen Songs of Ascent in Psalms 120–134, and it is connected with David in its heading. We cannot know exactly when these words first became part of Israel's pilgrimage tradition, but we can clearly see the setting the song gives us: people are going up to Jerusalem together.
If we read these first three Psalms as stages of a journey, Psalm 120 began far from Jerusalem, Psalm 121 put the traveler on the road, and Psalm 122 celebrates arriving at the city itself. Psalm 122:2 says, “And now here we are, standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem.” This movement from being far away, to traveling, to arriving in Jerusalem is one reason these Psalms work so naturally as pilgrimage songs.
For an Israelite making this trip, Jerusalem wasn't simply another city. It was where the Temple stood and where God's people gathered for their major celebrations. People came from different towns, regions, and tribes, joining one another along the way. By the time they reached Jerusalem, they were surrounded by other people who had made the same journey.
So when Psalm 122 begins, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD’” (Psalm 122:1 NLT), pay attention to those little words:
They. Us. Our.
This isn't a song about one person having a private moment with God.
It's a song about God's people gathering together.
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Before you go through the study guide, read the whole Psalm.
I would suggest reading or listening to it in two different bible translations:
First read it in NASB or NKJV, then read it again from a NLT, NIV or ESV Bible.
1. “LET US GO”
The first words of Psalm 122 are an invitation. Somebody apparently said to the writer, “Let us go to the house of the LORD” (Psalm 122:1 NLT).
That would have sounded perfectly normal to the people who first sang this song. These trips to Jerusalem were community events. Psalm 122:4 describes “all the tribes of Israel” making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The people came from different places, but they were headed toward the same destination to worship the same God.
There is something here for us. Following Jesus requires a personal decision; nobody else can follow Him for you. But personal doesn't mean private. The biblical picture isn't simply “me and God.” Eventually somebody needs to say, “Come with us.”
2. THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE ON THIS ROAD
Psalm 121 focused heavily on God's care for the traveler. Now Psalm 122 widens the camera and suddenly there are people everywhere.
“All the tribes of Israel—the LORD's people—make their pilgrimage here.” — Psalm 122:4 NLT
Think about what that means. Different families, different hometowns, different experiences, different personalities. These people were not identical, yet they shared a common identity and destination.
Following Jesus does the same thing. It puts us beside people we might never have chosen for ourselves. What holds us together isn't that we're all alike. It's that we're all following the same Jesus.
3. WE NEED PEOPLE WHO HELP US KEEP WALKING
There are times when following Jesus feels fairly easy. You feel close to God, things make sense, and you have something to give somebody else.
Then there are seasons when you are tired, confused, discouraged, or wondering whether you're making any progress at all.
That's one reason we need other Christians.
Sometimes you are the strong one who encourages somebody else. Sometimes you're the tired one who needs somebody beside you saying, “Keep going.”
Christian community isn't about surrounding ourselves with perfect people. There aren't any. It's about having people around us who help us continue walking when the journey gets difficult.
4. WHY GATHER AT ALL?
You can pray, read the Bible, and follow Jesus anywhere. God isn't limited to a church building. But Psalm 122 reminds us that we still need other people. Gathering helps us remember that following Jesus is bigger than our individual story. We belong to a people who are making this journey together.
The ancient pilgrimage itself joined personal faith with community life. People physically traveled, worshiped, remembered, and sang together rather than experiencing the journey only as individuals.
5. OTHER PEOPLE HELP US REMEMBER WHAT'S TRUE
When we're alone with our problems, fear can get louder and our perspective can shrink. Other Christians can remind us of what we've forgotten. Sometimes we encourage them; sometimes they encourage us.
Christian community gives us people who can help us remember what's true when we're struggling to see it ourselves.
That doesn't mean other people always fix our problems. Often they can't. Sometimes their greatest gift is simply standing beside us and reminding us that we aren't carrying the problem alone.
6. DIFFERENT PEOPLE—ONE PEOPLE
People who normally lived scattered across the land were now standing together as God's people. Our world still divides us by politics, money, age, race, denomination, education, and background.
Christian community doesn't erase those differences.
It reminds us that our differences aren't what define us most. Jesus is what holds us together.
Psalm 122 presents Jerusalem as a powerful picture of this gathering. Verse 3 describes the city as closely joined together, and then verse 4 immediately pictures Israel's tribes gathering there.
7. WORSHIP REORIENTS OUR LIVES
Psalm 122:4 says they gathered “to give thanks to the name of the LORD.”
Life naturally focuses us on problems, worries, and disappointments. Worship helps turn our attention back toward God. It doesn't make our problems disappear; it reminds us that our problems aren't the whole story.
Together we remember what God has done and who He is.
8. WORSHIP IS MORE THAN MUSIC
Today when Christians hear the word worship, we often immediately think about music. But worship is much bigger than singing.
These pilgrims gathered to remember what God had done, give thanks, pray, and center their lives around Him. Worship reminds us that God is at the center of the story—not us—and we need others to help us remember that.
Psalm 122 also connects Jerusalem with justice through the “thrones of the house of David” in verse 5. Their gathering involved much more than having an emotional experience; worship, community life, justice, gratitude, and peace all meet in this Psalm.
9. WORSHIP TURNS OUR ATTENTION TOWARD OTHERS
Then the Psalm changes direction. “Pray for peace in Jerusalem.” — Psalm 122:6 NLT
The writer came to worship God, but his attention turns toward the well-being of others. Healthy worship shouldn't end with me feeling better. As God changes us, we begin caring more deeply about the peace and good of the people around us.
And the peace being prayed for isn't merely a pleasant feeling. The Hebrew idea of shalom points toward life being whole, secure, and as it should be.
10. WORSHIP SHOULD CHANGE HOW WE TREAT PEOPLE
The writer says, “For the sake of my family and friends…May you have peace” (Psalm 122:8 NLT).
Notice where the Psalm started and where it is heading.
It begins with:
“I was glad.”
It ends with concern for other people.
That's an important test of what our time with God is producing in us. Worship shouldn't simply give us information about God or make us feel something for an hour. Over time, it should change how we treat the people around us.
11. COMMUNITY ISN'T JUST ABOUT WHAT I GET
It's easy to judge Christian community by asking, “What did I get out of it?”
Psalm 122:9 gives us a better question:
“I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.” — Psalm 122:9 NLT
Christian community changes when we stop thinking only about what others can give us and start asking what we can give them.
Maybe somebody needs encouragement.
Maybe somebody needs prayer.
Maybe somebody needs a meal, a phone call, help fixing something, or simply another person willing to listen.
The question changes from “What did I get?” to “Whose good can I seek?”
PSALM 120 → 121 → 122
These first three Songs of Ascent make a wonderful progression.
Psalm 120: I'm headed the wrong direction. Turn around.
Psalm 121: I've started walking, but this road isn't easy. God is watching over me.
Psalm 122: Wait a minute—I'm not the only person out here. We're walking together.
That progression isn't necessarily proof that these Psalms were originally written as three chapters of one story, but the arrangement naturally allows us to experience them that way. Scholars have similarly noted the movement from distance, to journey, to arrival in Jerusalem.
Following Jesus begins personally, but before long the language needs to change from me to us.
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Why Context Changes Everything
If we don't understand the pilgrimage background, Psalm 122 can easily become nothing more than a verse about being happy to go to church:
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’”
But picture the original scene.
These people had traveled. They had left home, walked together, climbed toward Jerusalem, and finally entered the gates. People from different tribes who normally lived miles apart were gathering in one place to remember what God had done, give thanks, and pray for peace. The Psalm's language of pilgrimage, thanksgiving, justice, community, and peace all belongs to that larger picture.
Suddenly “Let us go” means much more than “It's time for church.”
It means:
We're God's people. We're going somewhere together. Come with us.
And by the end of the Psalm, the person who was glad somebody invited him is now saying:
“I will seek what is best for you.”
That's the movement we don't want to miss.
FOUR WAYS TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED
1. LOOK BACK — What did I hear?
Read Psalm 122 again slowly. What words about people, gathering, worship, peace, and community stand out to you? How does knowing that people likely sang this while traveling to or arriving in Jerusalem change the way you hear the Psalm?
2. LOOK IN — Is there something I need to leave?
Am I genuinely sharing my journey with other Christians, or have I slowly turned following Jesus into something I mostly do alone? When I gather with other Christians, am I primarily thinking about what I receive, or do I also think about what I can contribute?
3. LOOK AROUND — What lies am I hearing?
Why do you think God repeatedly gathered His people instead of simply telling everyone to worship Him privately? What might that tell us about the importance God places on relationships, gratitude, peace, and people learning to live together?
4. LOOK AHEAD — What's my next step?
Who could you encourage this week? Is there someone you need to invite to “come with us”? Or perhaps you're the one who has been standing off by yourself. What would one practical step toward Christian community look like for you?
Journey Group OR ME & 3 Small Group Discussion Starters:
If you're using this guide with your Journey Group, Me & 3 group, or a few friends, don't feel like you need to work through every question. Start with something that gets people talking and then let the conversation go deeper.
Start with something everyone can answer:
“Who is someone who has helped you keep following Jesus, and what did they actually do that helped you?”
Don't rush past this question. Let people tell stories.
Then follow it with:
“What do you think makes it difficult for people today to build those kinds of relationships?”
That naturally moves the conversation from remembering good relationships into talking about isolation, busyness, past hurts, fear of being known, or simply not knowing where to begin.
Then bring Psalm 122 back into the discussion:
“What would it look like for our group to become the kind of people who can honestly say to one another, ‘Come on. Let's go together’?”
Remember This
Following Jesus is personal, but it was never meant to be private. We need other people on the journey—and they need us too.
Don't just ask, “Who's helping me follow Jesus?” Ask, “Who am I helping follow Jesus?”
FINAL THOUGHT
Psalm 120 said, “It's time to turn around.” Psalm 121 reminded us, “God is watching over me.” Now Psalm 122 adds something important:
There are other people on the road.
Following Jesus isn't simply about getting yourself to the destination. Along the way, God gives us people to encourage us, challenge us, remind us what is true, and sometimes carry us when we're struggling.
And we get to do the same for them.
That's why Psalm 122 begins with “Let us go” and ends with “I will seek what is best for you.”
That's a beautiful picture of healthy Christian community.
We come together around God, remember what's true, give thanks, pray for peace, and then begin looking around at the people beside us and asking:
How can I help you keep walking?
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The Biblical Connection:
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