KEPT AND PRESERVED August 5, 2020

The Word we read today is the second song of degrees, that which was sung by pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem.  Psalm chapter 121 declares that GOD is our Keeper and Preserver.

 

This is a far cry to when our first elder brother Cain was asked by GOD about where is Abel (whom he just then recently murdered), and he replied, “…Am I my brother’s keeper?”  (Genesis 4:9)

 

Sadly, until our generation today, we seem to have forgotten that we are just pilgrims of life here on earth, our citizenship is in heaven (Ephesians 2:19, Philippians 3:20), and that in our journey that is filled with perils and hardships, we need a Keeper and Preserver Who can keep us from evil (verse 7), Who will be there to help us in our time of need (verse 1), and One who never sleeps (verses 3 & 4).  We seem to have taken after our first elder brother in thinking only of ourselves, and whenever something bad happens, blame it immediately on other people or on external circumstances, not considering that we are all at fault, because of our selfishness, greed, pride, denial of what is right, and cowardice to face the truth and real.

 

Because our Keeper and Preserver is also the Creator of heaven and earth (verse 2), we can have faith that He is keeping and preserving us for something good, something that will fulfill His plan in our lives.   It is a funny contrast but I cannot help but compare this to one scene in a Korean drama we saw a few months ago, where the female lead felt happy that there is a refrigerator in the house of the male lead.  She was hoping to get a drink of something cold, but when she opened the refrigerator door, she saw that only clothes were stored inside.  Apparently, because of unstable power supply in the place where the male lead resides, the refrigerator is just for show and never used for its proper purpose.

 

But we can be confident that no matter the hardships piled upon us day by day, no matter the suffering we face as we plod through and thrive even amidst this pandemic, we have a GOD who shall preserve our souls (verse 7).  The world and its elements may melt because of extreme heat from climate change (2 Peter 3:10), but we can rest assured that He will be our shade (verse 5) and keep us from being consumed or hurt (physically and mentally) by the heat of the sun, or the gaze of the moon (verse 6), or by the forces of nature gone haywire.

 

If we but give our lives to Him in surrender, and live in obedience to His will, no matter if stripped of the material and physical, civil and political things that define our humanity, worldly citizenship or racial identity, we can trust that He will always be there to keep us wholly safe, and preserve and guide us in the right path, now and for all eternity (verse 8).