Oh, to be Kept…
One thing I know about God, he’s a keeper! This is something that I can attest to day to day. Many of us have been walking with the Lord for a long time, and even some of us who may be newer to the faith and committed to the walk know this to be true. When I was growing up, I heard the phrase “He’ll keep you if you want to be kept.” While I understood the concept then, I have a broader understanding now that I’m older. You may have seen in times when you didn’t know how to keep yourself or were unsure if you wanted to be kept; with or without your consent God was keeping you all along. What’s so sweet about this is that God is true to His word, baby when you chose Him; you chose life and all the things with it. I know God to be the Sheppard, and it’s a reminder o how he leaves the 99 to go find the one; I am the one, and YOU are the one. When you choose God, he chooses you back and because he loves you, he’s going to continue to make sure you’re covered. God doesn’t have to work hard; we just need to stay under him. It takes me back to the grace of God that we carry with us every day, it’s no small thing that we get to experience this throughout our lives.
Being kept by God is foundational in God attending to us and caring for us as he has already given his son Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins. When we accepted him as our Lord and Saviour, everything changed for the greater good. We are obliged here to keep ourselves by the upkeep of the spirit, upholding the standard of Holiness in God’s instructions and commandments as He leads us. If we take the time to tend to ourselves and preserve ourselves for Christ and Christ alone, he will do us one better and He already has, with his promises. God promises us his love, protection, wisdom, guidance, assurance and so much more through our obedience and asking. There are things we don’t have to ask God for as they are already promised to us, in His word.
Psalms 121:5 NKJV “The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.”
We get the privilege of being carried in grace, every time we breathe, we’re praising God. We ought to want to be kept, and being so should keep us in a place of acknowledgment. What we do sometimes, is miss the opportunity to be present, and thank God, we get so caught up in our stuff (simpler things uprooting foundational faith) if we allow it. When the seasoned saints say, “All it takes is a flashback, or when I think of the goodness”, this is a prime example that it doesn’t take much because they know what it means to be “kept” in all things. God’s love for us is just the surface of it all, his protection follows, and His provision never fails us. We can stand and fight on because we know that no weapon that is formed will prosper. We are assured!
Intermission: Mini Testimony time
When we look at the word “covering” we think of shade. The Lord being our shade equates to him encamping around us, protection from whatever may come. As someone who has battled bouts of depression for over a decade, I have been kept and covered in some of my darkest, lowest moments. When I thought there was no way I would see the light again, my hope has remained in Jesus Christ, no matter how it feels there’s one thing I know to be true it’s only by His Grace. Oh, to be kept, because of His grace I am still here and in His care. For the rest of my life, I’ll serve Him! I want to be kept because God promised to keep me.
Xo, Tee!