Psalm 121 is a short psalm, just eight verses. Its encouraging words often come to mind, as it was one of many passages I memorized as a child for our annual scripture memory contests. As a kid, my motivation was the $20 prize, but the real prize has come throughout my life as the words of life that were planted deep in my mind and heart bore eternal fruit.

I’m so grateful for those contests. In those days, VBS was held at night, and it went for a full week. The first night, a mimeographed sheet of Bible references was handed out, and any child could participate. The rules were simple. You could memorize any verses listed in any order, but at the end of the week, winners in each age group were declared for successfully reciting the most from memory.

My mom was the pastor’s secretary and worked out of his house. In the summer, we went to work with her. I can still remember sitting on their screened porch memorizing verses all day long. I had one major competition in my age group – a sweet friend named Regina. I think there were a few years they had to award us both because we both memorized every passage. As the years passed, we were excited to see familiar verses show up on the list, because it meant we were ahead of the game!

Psalm 121 was on that list a lot, and for good reason. Its words are an encouraging promise to all of us, no matter what steep and treacherous road God leads us down as He conforms us to the image of His Son.

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.

Notice that little word keep. The same Hebrew word is used six times in eight verses and is also translated as protect, preserve, guard, or watch over. The word is šāmar, a primitive root meaning to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, beware, be circumspect, take heed to, mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save.

The Lord, the one who watches over us, does not sleep. He can never be caught off guard. He has hedged us about, enclosing us behind and before, and laying His hand upon us (Psalm 139:5). Nothing can touch us unless it is filtered through His protective, Almighty hands, just as the sun’s rays are filtered through the shade of a tree.

The Lord protects us from evil – from all the attacks of our enemy; He keeps our soul – our mind, our emotions, our will.

He places a helmet of salvation on us to protect our minds and has given the word of God to transform our minds to think like the mind of Christ (Ephesians 6:17, Romans 12:2, 1 Corinthians 2:16).

He protects our hearts by giving us peace with God in salvation, and the peace of God to direct our steps and allow us to walk intimately in fellowship with Him. This happens as we thank Him for everything, both the good and the bad, and set our hearts and minds on all that is good and excellent (Philippians 4:6-8).

Our will falls under God’s keeping as we surrender it (Romans 12:1-2), trusting that as we make our plans, letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts (Colossians 3:15), He will order our steps (Proverbs 16:9). To keep is to beware, which is to be aware. God is able to guard our steps and protect us from all evil because He is completely, at all times, fully aware of the schemes of our enemy, and can see the future before it comes to be. He will keep our soul.

Finally, the Lord will guard our going out and our coming in, not just in this life, but forever. What does this mean? I immediately connect this to Jesus’ words of promise in John 10:9.

I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

In this physical life, as mortal human beings bound by these earth suits, we go in and out of the presence of God many times. Yes, He is always with us, as the Holy Spirit lives in us, but as you know, we don’t “live” on the mountain with Him yet. We go in and out of His throne room in prayer. We go in and out of times of worship, where the Spirit of God can be sensed in deeper ways. But we are physical beings. We live in a world of distractions and noise. The demanding needs of our children and spouses … the responsibilities of work or caring for loved ones … the lure of temptation and desire for pleasure … even the good and worthwhile work of serving Christ.

Yet Jesus promises that we can go in and out and find pasture. The Lord will guard our going out and coming in – every day, every moment. Whether we “feel” His presence or sense His activity in our lives, the Lord is our keeper as we go “in and out” and navigate the curves, hills, and valleys of life’s path.

I don’t think it’s random that the psalmist ends by saying the Lord will guard our going out and coming in forever. There is an initial coming in when we enter through the door (Jesus) into salvation. And there is a final going out, as we leave this physical world and never need “keeping” again, as we are fully and forever in the presence of God. Oh, I guess that’s a “coming in” as well, as we enter the gates of heaven!

Go back and re-read the definition of “keep.” Remind yourself, this is what the Lord is doing for you from the time of your birth until the day of death. And even then, whether it’s today, or tomorrow, or decades down the road, the Lord is our keeper. He will protect us during the journey, and He will get us safely home.