“… those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, except the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” John 17:12
Dear Ones:
It is one thing to be kept from physical harm. It is quite another, that the soul of the believer should be kept eternally safe and secure from all alarms, and enemies. Scripture tells us that “…our life is hid with Christ in God.” (Col.3:3) How then are we kept? How did the Lord Jesus “keep” His disciples while He walked on this earth?
First, we see that these souls, these believers and followers of Christ, were kept from being “lost.” In Jesus’ prayer to the Father in John 17, He declares in His prayer: “…and none of them is lost.” His point is that they have all been “found” and bought, acquired, redeemed. They have become as He is, “…not of this world.” Later on in His prayer, He specifies how He has kept them, and how He prays to the Father to keep them: “…but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil (…or the evil one…Satan). (v.15) Not only has Christ brought the believing disciples to a place or position, where they belong to Him; He has also become their eternal Keeper, their guardian, their resolved and resolute fortress against all the wiles and efforts of the devil. Again, Paul’s words are so very appropriate here: “…For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39) Even in David’s 23rd Psalm, he would reiterate this truth: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.” (v.4) But, how can we grasp this truth, make it our own, and apply it where we live in this world?
It is often by using the physical world as an example, that we come to see clearer what this “keeping” means, and how it applies to our lives. Such is the case in Psalm 121, where the psalmist declares very clearly, and simply: “The Lord IS they keeper.” (v.5) What is the strength of this phrase? It resides in the capacity of the “keeper” to exercise effectively His role as keeper, protector. What are the characteristics of this “keeper?” First, we see His credentials: “My help comes from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.” (v.2) There is associated with this Keeper of our souls the very power and authority of God, but also, the commitment of our Divine Keeper to do what He has declared. What has he revealed to the psalmist with regard to His role? “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved.” (v.3) Here is stability, not that the experience of the believer may not experience the winds and waves of life, which may slam against the house of his existence, but that the One who keeps him founded on the Rock will never let him go…he shall NOT be moved. We also see that there is a constancy in the Keeper’s work. “He that keeps thee will not slumber…nor sleep.” (v.3-4) With that constancy is the proximity of His presence, “…the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.” He is our “VERY present help in trouble,” for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Perhaps the greatest declaration of the Keeper’s eternal role with regard to the soul is this: “The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul.” (v.7) If this is the case, and it has to do with that which is eternal, can we not trust Him for the present day blessing of His keeping, with regard to our going out and coming in? He did promise to do it, “…from this time forth…and even for evermore.” (v.8)
Dear Father, we take Thy Son as our Keeper NOW, “…and I commit to Thee, My soul, my way, my works, my cause, in Thy sole charge to be; And my deposit, Thou, I know, Wilt guard secure from ev’ry foe.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad