What would happen if the keeper(s) of the house gave up their responsibilities? Can you imagine the pile-up of dishes and dust, garbage and grime, dirty clothes and clutter? The house would soon become uninhabitable.
Now think of what would happen if the Keeper of the universe gave up his responsibilities–just on Planet Earth.
His carefully-engineered habitats for plants and animals would collapse, weather patterns conducive for agriculture would become sporadic, and the regulation of Earth’s orbit and rotation would end. Our planet would soon become uninhabitable.
Our God is indeed Keeper extraordinaire of creation!
But his preservation skills impact more than the physical realm. Skim-read these scriptures and see what categories-of-keeping you notice:
- “The Lord bless you and KEEP you [protect you, sustain you, and guard you]” (Numbers 6:24 AMP).
- “Lord God of heaven, . . . you faithfully KEEP your promise and show mercy to those who love you and obey your commandments” (Nehemiah 1:5 NIV).
- “You Lord, KEEP my lamp burning and turn darkness to light” (Psalm 18:28 CEV).
- “The Lord will KEEP you from evil; he will KEEP your life” (Psalm 121:7 ESV).
- “You will KEEP in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you” (Isaiah 26:3 NIV).
- “He will KEEP you strong to the end” (1 Corinthians 1:8 NLT).
More scriptures could be added, but even this short list makes clear: We are cared for, guarded, preserved, protected, provided for, shielded, upheld, and watched over (all synonyms for kept).
I’ve lived long enough to see much evidence of God’s keeping, including:
- His provision when the A/C repairman “just happened” to have in his truck the part we needed, slightly used but still good, which he gave us without charge.
- God’s protection when the IRS declared our son owed the government $5000. He engaged a tax accountant who verified he only owed $1500. But she also found additional deductions and discovered the IRS owed him $1500!
- God’s care during sieges of too much to do and not enough time to do it, relieved by changes of plans, help from unforeseen sources, and tasks that didn’t take as long as expected.
- God’s preservation when troubling events haven’t happened: exposure to illness and we didn’t get sick, dangerous weather projected by meteorologists turned out to be much less severe, or a meeting expected to be stressful actually went smoothly.
Such circumstances occur more frequently than we realize. In fact, “There are not five minutes in the day when [we] do not need the Almighty Keeper to keep charge of [us]” [1].
For some, however, keeping sounds constrictive, like God is repressing us under his thumb, insisting on control, spoiling our fun.
Charles Spurgeon offers a different perspective: “It is . . . a delightful thing to be kept of God . . . They are kept indeed whom God keeps: they are preserved from evil; they are reserved unto boundless happiness” [2]. The above examples offer proof.
“No, no,” some will say. “Evil happens to good people much too often; sadness intrudes upon every life. Where is God’s keeping then?”
Surely the Apostle Paul was addressed such a question, while held under house arrest in Rome.
He might have answered, “I’ve known and served Christ for many years, and have enjoyed countless blessings along with dynamic relationships. I’ve watched God perform astounding miracles and seen people’s lives transformed by faith in Christ.
“But I’ve also experienced hardship, persecution, suffering, and sorrow, including my imprisonment now. God doesn’t necessarily remove us from difficulty; he preserves us through it.
“We’re upheld by his light in darkness, his comfort in stress, his strength in trouble, his peace in upheaval, and even his joy in spite of disappointment” [3].
And because he wanted everyone to remember that nothing can interfere with God’s compassionate keeping of our lives, Paul wrote:
How has God demonstrated his compassionate keeping in your life? Please share in the comments below!
[1] Andrew Murray, The Spiritual Life, Whitaker House, 1996, 235.
[2] Faith’s Checkbook, August 4.
[3] Psalm 55:22; 139:12; 23:4; Isaiah 41:10; Nehemiah 8:10c.
Image credits: ww.flickr.com; stockcake.com; http://www.canva.com; stockcake.com; http://www.canva.com (2).
Sign up below for the monthly newsletter that includes additional features not on the blog. And thank you in advance for becoming a subscriber!
Discover more from From the Inside Out
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
From the Inside Out 
The myriad ways that God has kept both me and Danny throughout the years are too vast to count, Nancy. It would be like someone trying to add up the grains of sand on a beach or number the stars in the heavens. I do believe why giving God thanks in all circumstances and repeatedly throughout the day is because we know He keeps us safe in His loving arms. If I might take liberty with the first lines of Psalm 23: “The Lord is my Keeper, I shall not want . . .”
Blessings always!
Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Martha. Your “liberty” with Psalm 23 certainly speaks truth. A shepherd is indeed a keeper. Provisions like grains of sand would describe our lives as well. I do believe the more grateful we become, the more we see to be grateful for: in creation, in relationships, in circumstances, in our God himself!
It is an interesting day to respond to this post. On a day when the financial markets have been crushed we can know that He keeps us and sustains us. He alone is our provider. Thanks for this post.
I did not know that, Ponderosa Papa! Praise God for the truth you shared that always stands: Our Almighty God will keep us and sustain us! (And we can pray the bear market will not last long!)
Absolutely true! Even when I was broke, I never went hungry. Even today, when my retirement fund took a huge hit, I still have food for the table. And even though the world seems hellbent for destruction, my home in heaven is secure.
Robert, that’s the ticket to a life of shalom–list what we have, not what we have not! God keeps in peace those who trust in him (Isaiah 26:3); what better way to express trust than with gratitude? P.S. I am prayerfully optimistic that the stock market will recuperate, given a bit of time to adjust!
I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that when we do for others, God does for us. When I donated heavily to a food bank, for instance, I received unexpected funds. God is good! Thank you, Nancy, for inspiring grateful thoughts! 🙂
Oh YES, Nancy! We’ve experienced the same. Another way God repays generosity is through bargains. SO many times I have found amazing buys and our dollars go much further than would be expected. God is indeed VERY good!!
I’m reminded every day that my treasure is in heaven where thieves cannot steal or moth and rust do not destroy. Thank you for this post, Nancy.
Amen, Dora. I’m inspired by your consistent heaven-centered thinking. Such an attitude creates a lovely atmosphere in which to live, doesn’t it?
With everything that pulls at us, it takes being intentional to see God in the details. And yes, He is!
You are so right, RH. It does take effort to look for evidence of God in the details of our lives. But it IS worth it! We experience more peace, joy, and contentment when we do. And after some practice, the discovery process of recognizing his influence here, there, and everywhere becomes a source of great delight. (Of course, I know you already know this–from your own experience!)
Delight indeed!
Thank you Nancy for this beautiful post. God has amazingly come through in various ways in my life. It was not always in my timing or the way I wanted, as you know he was keen on teaching me to depend on Him, trust Him and grow my faith. He is my keeper, I hold onto Him and cannot imagine going through life without God.
Amen, Manu. Yes, experience teaches us that God often has something even better in mind than what we desired, and what he provides is always worth the wait! Meanwhile, the growth in relationship with God, the fruit of the Spirit, and our faith (to name a few benefits of waiting), are realities we wouldn’t want to forego. I’m with you: I can’t imagine going through life without him either!
Wow – the story about your son’s taxes. Amazing! Beautifully said, Nancy!
Thank you, Wynne. We were amazed too how God resolved that situation over our son’s taxes. To be honest, I’d forgotten about that episode, but thankfully it was recorded in my “God Is Faithful” journal, and I found it while skimming for examples of God’s keeping!
Beautiful! ❤
Jesus the keeper of our souls. Though we face perils in this life, Jesus will keep our souls safely in his hands. Though outwardly we may perish, he keeps us in his hands.
Praise God for his attentive care and compassion when difficulty enters our lives. Even as life ends and we’re ready to begin new life in heaven, Jesus will be there! Such sweet comfort in these promises. Thank you, Matt!
Nancy,
Things happen we can’t control. If feels like we are just always hitting walls or hit with walls. But it all has a purpose maybe course correction. Thank you, Gary
Gary Avants Forbear Productions * *garyavants66@gmail.com garyavants66@gmail.com
There’s such comfort in knowing that “all has a purpose!” Thank you for adding that to the conversation, Gary.
I love to thank God for the “little” things that fill me with the awareness of His blessings and care for me. He keeps me safe as I drive; keeps us supplied with food and other needs; keeps me blessed with my family and friends; and so many other evidences of His keeping in my daily life. I try to remember His keeping hand on me and to thank Him as I go about my day.
I keep a gratitude journal specifically for recording the little things like those you mentioned. Patty. It is a joy to see the creative gifts God sends our way!
The hope of our Supreme Keeper amid the challenges of today and the unknown of tomorrow is the one thing we can be sure of. I love the pictures you painted of the keeper of the house just letting it all go. And the picture of God abandoning us, and how our world would suffer. We can’t begin to value His power for us and through us. We can’t grasp the massive love that He pours out on us to protect and provide for us. This was beautiful, Nancy. A wonderful reminder that He is always in control.
Thank you, Dayle. Praise God for the way he sparks ideas in our minds, helps us find ways to develop those ideas and then organize them. Sometimes I even feel his inspiration as an expressive phrase or word bubbles up from my jumble of thoughts! My guess is you’ve experienced the same while composing your blog posts Our writing is just one area out of dozens where we do get to see God’s power at work, for us and through us!
Wonderful post! God is with us every hour of every day. The light that shines within us never fades. It is eternal and the ‘Keeper of this light’ is ever faithful.
Amen, Linda! He IS the Keeper of the light within us. The question often comes to my mind: Where would I be without him? Nowhere good, that I can tell you!
You are so right, Nancy! The bubbling up from the jumble of our thoughts is a perfect picture of how it works!
Thanks you, Dayle. I think it must be a familiar occurrence for anyone who writes!
I have always been drawn to the word ‘keep’ in light of how God keeps us….like a castle keep. It’s the strongest part of the castle 🙂 (See Psalm 71).
Rejoicing with you in the grand record of all the ways God has kept you and yours, Nancy.
The thought of a castle keep crossed my mind too, Jody! Thank you for bringing it into the conversation. Our God IS indeed a keep, a refuge!
I love thinking about all the ways God is a home maker!
TT
[image: –Join me at Living Our Days]
Join me at Living Our Days https://michelemorin.net “The way we live our days is, of course, the way we live our lives.” (Annie Dillard)https://linktr.ee/MicheleDMorin
It does open the door to fresh contemplation, doesn’t it?
I’m a huge believer in keeping a prayer journal to keep track of the prayers that God has answered. Otherwise, it can be too easy to forget that a good thing we receive is actually the result of prayer.
But I just have to ask, did you stage that first photo?
Well done, Stacey, keeping a prayer journal. I agree, keeping track of answered prayers is beneficial–it helps to grow our faith. As for the first photo–I didn’t have to stage it; I found it on Google Images under Creative Commons licenses!
Well that’s a relief, because I was worried for your house!
😁
This Spurgeon quote is so wonderful. “It is . . . a delightful thing to be kept of God . . . They are kept indeed whom God keeps: they are preserved from evil; they are reserved unto boundless happiness.”
As you wrote, “nothing can interfere with God’s compassionate keeping of our lives.” Last evening I tripped on cement steps landing on both knees, the palm of my hand, and my shoulder; the pain was excruciating but by morning I recognized the hand of God in seeing that the healing has begun.
Just reading this gives me a wonderful sense of security found in our Lord.
I also enjoyed reading about your son’s tax situation!
Oh, I’m so glad you weren’t injured seriously, Cheri! No doubt part of your prompt healing is due to exercise–keeping yourself strong. God is doing the rest! As for the story about E’s taxes, I’d forgotten all about that situation. But there is was in my “God Is Faithful” journal as I skimmed through to find illustrations for this post. That was an amazing turn of events, wasn’t it?
The first photo reminds me of the odd person who knows exactly where to find every little thing, even if the look of his/her room suggests utter disarray. Perhaps God keeps me super-organized (my trademark) as a way to make my life more efficient, which is another way of saying I have more time to serve Him.
We once had a phenomenal church- choir director whose office was usually a disaster-zone. However, she knew where everything was, just as you’ve described, Dave. I prefer “a place for everything and everything in its place.” Saves me time AND frustration! I like your added bonus: more time to serve God!
What a sweet post. We’re blessed under His keeping and we have a part in being certain we do our part in keeping Him close by obedience.
Thank you, Alicia. And you’re so right about obedience. God is faithful to those who show themselves faithful (Psalm 18:35)!
God his definitely kept my husband and I under his wing for the past two years. I don’t know how people who don’t have faith get through times like this.
I have OFTEN said the same thing, Debi Sue. Praise God for his strength, comfort, encouragement, and more. He even provides joy in the midst of strife–how incredible is that?! Blessings to you and your husband–and Lord, I pray this couple’s siege of adversity may end SOON!
Thank you!