THE GUARDIAN

 “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever,” (Psalm 121, NASB).

 This psalm of David is one of the psalms sung by the Jews as they journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate the Lord’s feasts. Though there were many dangers along the way, they realized help wouldn’t come from anyone but the Lord. Do we wonder what dangers lurk in the future? God alone knows what we’ll encounter, and He assures us that because He is our Keeper, we have nothing to fear. He never sleeps and is always attentive to our cries for help – even when we can’t sense His presence.

Our loving Father cares for us physically as He guides and guards our path, but His priority is always our spiritual well-being. He watches over our steps and provides everything we need in order to avoid falling into sin. God’s Holy Spirit directs and empowers us, and His Word lights our path so we do not slip. What’s more, He has provided a means of escape for every temptation so we can endure it and stay faithful.

Christians are sojourners traveling this earth to reach their heavenly home. What a comfort it is to know that the Lord will guard our steps “…from this time forth and forever,” (Psalm 121:8, NASB).

~ Jeff