The Lord is your keeper .... —Psalm 121:5 (nas)
I failed guard duty...twice. The first time our one-year-old grandson Ian fell from the kitchen counter, thumping the floor with his head. I’d let go “just for a second” to prepare a 5:30 am bottle. Another time he managed to pull a heavy wooden TV tray on top of himself, leaving three purple welts on his forehead. My back was turned “just for a second” to place the safety gate across the stairs.
Jesus is actively on guard according to the Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy, a young pastor in the early Christian church. He writes, “I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2 Timothy 1:12). Jesus is “Shepherd and Guardian” of my soul (1 Peter 2:25).
A surprising second reference to guarding appears in 2 Timothy 1:14, where Paul counsels, “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” I have a charge to guard the words of life and truth God has made known to me in Jesus Christ, to see they are not diminished or neglected in how I live.
Sometimes I’ve blown this trust—because I “let go” or “turned my back.” But Jesus’ faithfulness is unchanging. He is keeper of my soul and protector of my faith. The Guard I can absolutely count on.
