Kept!

Kept!

Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. Psalm 119:114 KJV

We live in a world of uncertainty. Life is hard; sin has made sure of that. The things God made easy for us have now become work. Some of the things the man in the Garden of Eden was  commanded to dominate are now beyond his control. We now live in a world where it is normal to fight for all you want; we have proverbs and wise sayings that seek to promote man's labour over God's favour. Man seeks measures to protect himself, because he is not sure who or what else can protect him. He builds high fences, yet he cannot sleep. He employs guards who are human like himself, equips them with tools made by men like himself, yet he wonders why these also can't protect him. Nothing of the earth can keep you from the evil of the earth. You need more than what the earth provides in order to secure that which heaven provides. 

This is where today's extract provides answers to life's questions. If there was no trouble ahead, I won't need a hiding place. If there was no danger ahead, God won't offer me a secured place in him. God offering me a hiding place and a refuge is an acknowledgement of the fact that life will pose challenges that will require these things that God offers. What is the use of a hiding place if it cannot serve as a secured place? It is not a hiding place if just anyone has access to it. It is not a hiding place if the One who offers it is not capable of protecting all who come to rest in him. God is staking his reputation here, telling me that I should try him and see if he is up to the task. 

From all who have tried God in this manner, I am sure that their testimony will confirm that God is able to do all He has promised. The writer of this psalm was speaking from personal experience too, because he referred to God as 'my' hiding place and 'my' shield. That is personal. It is not enough to hear other people say it; there is really no replacement for that which you have come to know and experience for yourself. It stays with you in times of uncertainty. It helps you hold on in seasons of dread and fear. 

Calling God 'my shield' also means that I know there is a war ahead. You don't need a shield if there is no war. A shield protects from flaming arrows or darts, or anything that may be thrown against me. It can also be used as a battering ram, pushing back against forces coming against me. The reason why I have this confidence has nothing to do with only me, but with all that surrounds me: the hiding place keeping me away from the prying eyes of men, the shield protecting me from all obvious dangers, and the word of God offering me daily leadership and guidance as I seek to navigate the uncertainties of life. 

Is my hope really in the Lord or in 'viable' alternatives, which really cannot save? The Word of the Lord is the answer to all of life's questions. It is God himself, as he is the Word. He speaks himself into all situations that I call him into, and he is able to perform all that his Word pronounces. I need then to get a Word from God for everything I may be going through. Whatever it is, no matter how hard it is, I need to hear from God on that matter. That must be the basis of my confidence, that God has a Word for me. I can look ahead to all of life once I know that the author of life is on my side. Do I know him? Does he know me? God's time of favour is here.