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He Keeps Me:The God Who Keeps You From Falling
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HE KEEPS ME
“Watch your step!” You’ve said it countless times, haven’t you? It’s what we say to our friends, our spouse, or even our children when they are big enough to make their way through slippery terrain. Yet, we never say that to a toddler. Nor do we say it to our aged grandparents as they shuffle across the ice-encrusted driveway to the car for a doctor’s appointment. Why not? The issue for them is not one of awareness. No, the issue is their lack of ability to prevent themselves from slipping. Simply telling a toddler or an aged grandparent to watch their step will not result in their safe passage from here to there. They simply do not have the ability to prevent themselves from slipping. They will fall.
What do we do? We quickly step up to them and take them by the arm, don’t we? We wrap an arm around their waist and prevent them from slipping. Maybe they make the journey without a foot slipping. But, in all likelihood, they make the trip without slipping because you are there, preventing it from happening. Your love for them, your concern for and commitment to their well-being, motivates you to support them, to hold them up, and to prevent them from slipping on the dangerous ground.
Do you realize this is how God treats you, my friend? So many times, we falsely believe that God shouts from heaven, “Watch your step! Don’t stray into sin! Remain faithful to Me!” while standing back, watching to see if we will make it. We imagine God standing, hands on hips, shaking His head in disappointment at our inevitable slips into sin. Yet that is not how God is at all, my friends. Look at Psalm 121:3, “He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.” He will not allow your foot to slip! He will not allow it! He actively prevents it! He slides up next to you, wraps His omnipotent arm around your trembling waist, and upholds you. He prevents you from slipping into ruin. This whole psalm recounts the way that God “keeps” His people. Our help comes from Him (v. 2)! He does not take naps or even a break (vv. 3-4). The LORD will keep us from all evil (v. 7)! He will keep our going out and our coming in from this time forth and forever (v. 8)!
God keeps you. He holds you. He strengthens you. Isaiah 41:10 is such a refreshing promise: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” God promises to keep you, beloved. Trust in Him. Lean your tear-stained face into His chest and say, “Help me, Jesus.” He will. He does. He is. Do not look around in panic or strive to throw off His arms as if they were some kind of restraint. Rest in Him. He is the one who keeps you.
“Watch your step!” You’ve said it countless times, haven’t you? It’s what we say to our friends, our spouse, or even our children when they are big enough to make their way through slippery terrain. Yet, we never say that to a toddler. Nor do we say it to our aged grandparents as they shuffle across the ice-encrusted driveway to the car for a doctor’s appointment. Why not? The issue for them is not one of awareness. No, the issue is their lack of ability to prevent themselves from slipping. Simply telling a toddler or an aged grandparent to watch their step will not result in their safe passage from here to there. They simply do not have the ability to prevent themselves from slipping. They will fall.
What do we do? We quickly step up to them and take them by the arm, don’t we? We wrap an arm around their waist and prevent them from slipping. Maybe they make the journey without a foot slipping. But, in all likelihood, they make the trip without slipping because you are there, preventing it from happening. Your love for them, your concern for and commitment to their well-being, motivates you to support them, to hold them up, and to prevent them from slipping on the dangerous ground.
Do you realize this is how God treats you, my friend? So many times, we falsely believe that God shouts from heaven, “Watch your step! Don’t stray into sin! Remain faithful to Me!” while standing back, watching to see if we will make it. We imagine God standing, hands on hips, shaking His head in disappointment at our inevitable slips into sin. Yet that is not how God is at all, my friends. Look at Psalm 121:3, “He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.” He will not allow your foot to slip! He will not allow it! He actively prevents it! He slides up next to you, wraps His omnipotent arm around your trembling waist, and upholds you. He prevents you from slipping into ruin. This whole psalm recounts the way that God “keeps” His people. Our help comes from Him (v. 2)! He does not take naps or even a break (vv. 3-4). The LORD will keep us from all evil (v. 7)! He will keep our going out and our coming in from this time forth and forever (v. 8)!
God keeps you. He holds you. He strengthens you. Isaiah 41:10 is such a refreshing promise: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” God promises to keep you, beloved. Trust in Him. Lean your tear-stained face into His chest and say, “Help me, Jesus.” He will. He does. He is. Do not look around in panic or strive to throw off His arms as if they were some kind of restraint. Rest in Him. He is the one who keeps you.