Have you ever tried to swaddle a newborn baby? For the rookie, it’s not an easy task! When not wrapped tightly, their little arms work their way out, or their feet poke through an opening you didn’t realize you’d left. Of course, it’s not terribly difficult if they’re already asleep…but isn’t the whole point of swaddling a baby to help them go to and then stay asleep? It’s amazing how an over-tired, cranky or anxious baby will become calm once their body and limbs are tightly restrained and their every muscle slowly relaxes. Their need for security has been met, and they drift off into peaceful slumber, sensing they are protected, guarded, and using a biblical term, kept!

The Bible says we are kept too!  1Peter 1:5 “…(you) who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” The word “kept” in that verse is from the Greek word, “phroureo”  which is a military term picturing a sentry standing guard as protection against the enemy.  God lovingly and powerfully protects us.  And according to this verse, God’s part is to “keep” or guard us, and our part is to have faith in Him. 

And of course, the very nature of the God’s part means that He is actively watchful.  He’s not a daydreaming cosmic giant! Psalm 121: 3b – 5a says—“He who keeps you will not slumber.  Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  The Lord is your keeper;” God is alert both to our every need and to Satan’s every snare.  

There are other verses that remind us that God keeps us (since He’s awake anyway!!)  With most of them, we play a part as well:

2Timothy 1:12 “…I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”    God’s part: He keeps (“phylasso” guard, watch, keep watch, protect) what I commit to Him.  My part: Give it to Him!

Isaiah 26:3 NLT – “You (God) will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” God’s part: He keeps (Hebrew word, “nasar”- guard, watch, watch over, keep)  me free from anxiety or anxious thoughts. My part:  Keep my mind on Him and trust Him

So God keeps us as we trust Him.  I like to think of our faith and trust as a continuously flowing river, forever moving us in the path God has for us.  Of course, since Satan hates this whole arrangement, he’s not sitting idly by. He’s busy tossing stones, rocks and boulders into the path of that river to try and create a barrier to hinder its flow and keep us from trusting God.  He knows that if we don’t engage our faith and choose trust, it makes God’s job that much harder!  So, next time you come to a boulder that Satan has tossed into your river of trust, do what rivers do!  Find a way around, over, or through it.  Keep your trust flowing.  If you don’t, you’ll allow your trust to be sidelined into a stagnant pool of anxiousness, fear and doubt.  Remember, God’s your keeper!  

Take a slow, deep breath of that truth and then relax like a swaddled baby in the blanket of God’s care for you! Your Keeper never sleeps.