The Lord is thy keeper: The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, Nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in From this time forth, and even for evermore. (Psalm 121:5–8)
God is our shade or shadow from the heat of trials and suffering. This means that He is the One who stands between us and the burning of trials…to give us protection and refreshment of soul…
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. (Psalm 57:1)
God also is our guide. Is not God sovereign? Is not He in control? Does He not know the end from the beginning? Does He not know the way we should take? Does He not know the evil that is against us? Is He not well acquainted with our situation?
As we go this way and that way, is He not with us? Is not His hand upon us? In all this, is He not able to guide us in the right way? And as our guide, then is it not His responsibility to defend, to deliver, and to shield us?
If God is our eternal protector, should we not be turning to him and him alone? God is the One who protects or preserves us. There are two ways to preserve fruits and vegetables: in sugar or in vinegar. We as Christians are preserved in one way or the other. Those preserved in sugar are sweet, nice folks. Those preserved in vinegar, well, that’s speaks for itself.
I think sometimes God in heaven must look down upon us, and we must be like a little child who says, “God, I’m hurt. God help me.” God reaches in to help us, and the first thing we do is say, “God, don’t touch me! Don’t do that God!” God is saying, “But I’ve got to reach in there and deal with the hurt. It may hurt a little, but I’ve got to do it.” We say, “No, God. Please, nothing like that!”
So here we are fighting with God. It is the equivalent of being in surgery when the surgeon has both of his arms up to his elbows in your abdomen, and suddenly you decide that you don’t want to be operated on and try to get off the table. How many times in our lives do we find ourselves on the surgery table of the Almighty, where God is trying to work in our lives that miracle of making us like Christ, and when we realize what God’s doing, we wake up and say, “God, I don’t want you to do this. Let me out of here!”?
Remember, “I will lift my eyes above the hills…to God…”
Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He is your keeper. He has kept you hitherto. Do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all things; and, when you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms. Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow. Our Father will either shield you from suffering, or He will give you strength to bear it. — St. Francis of Sales, Virtue, Vol. 20, no. 7.
– Pastor Stevens