Always On Watch

Cats are really, really good at taking naps. Here is an "action" shot of two of the three cats in our home. The one in the foreground is our latest addition, Shiny, whose mom is our outside cat. Shiny is five months old, so more properly a kitten. She is active and playful, but appears to have found a mentor as she moves from being a kitten to an adult cat. I imagine that our indoor cats nap, or sleep, 22-23 hours a day, with the majority of their "waking" hours being used to move from one of their favorite nap locations to another.

In the past few weeks I have found myself reading Psalm 121 during a number of pastoral visits. I initially used it when visiting someone and having the thought during the visit of reminding them, from God's word, where the help they needed in a trying time could be found. Psalm 121:1-2 has the answer:

"I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."

Those words were the right ones at that particular time. But the psalm continues to speak of another great truth of God, which in those visits, and also the funeral I preached this week, also needed to be spoken. Verse 3-4 say:

"He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."

Hard times come in our lives. We wonder what is going on. We wonder how we will great through a particular moment. We wonder what the next day will bring.

But at the very same time, we who look to Jesus as Savior and Lord can go through those hard times, can live with those wonderings, knowing that God is on watch. He does not slumber or sleep. He doesn't take a nap. He doesn't go for a cup of coffee or check his Facebook.

He does what he always does, which is to hold all things in his hands at all times. He watches over each of his children with the same diligence. He does not slumber or sleep, ever. And in this I believe that his children can take great comfort. We may not understand the difficulties or worries of life at a particular moment, but God does, and he is watching over us at each moment of our lives.

Unlike our cats, the Lord is always on watch, and that is a good thing, one that is not merely comforting to us, but also to his glory. Amen.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.