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I’ve been reflecting on the lovely Psalm 121 and was struck by the words: He who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.(Psalm 121:3-4)
Slumbering speaks to me of dozing off or losing of attention. We all do it. I sit down to watch a favourite TV programme and suddenly realise I’ve missed most of it because I’ve been slumbering. I’ve not been fully asleep but haven’t been aware of what’s going on because of the sleepiness dulling me.
But the Psalmist says that God neither slumbers or sleeps. He never loses His attentiveness over us and we are told repeatedly that He is constantly watching over us. We are always in His care. Those are tremendously comforting thoughts and yet sometimes life seems to contradict them. Accidents happen, loved ones become ill, relationships break down and people hurt one another. Where is God then? Is He still watching over us? Why have these hard things happened?
I don’t have easy answers, but I know God is true to His word. Marilyn and I are dealing with deep things right now but are drawing comfort in knowing that we can rest all the uncertainty in His love. Jesus told us ‘In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) He said those words in the context of promising us His gift of peace. It’s that same peace the Psalmist discovers as he realises he is always at the forefront of God’s loving attention.
You and I are in the forefront of God’s loving attention too. Do you know it?
Recently a friend of mine had an amazing experience of God watching over her and saving her in what could have been a very nasty fall. She was walking across fields and as she has a very bad back, she walks with a stick which she was holding with the strap looped over her hand. In her words this is what happened.
I was walking on a narrow path where bramble bushes grew on each side as they surround all the fields. My stick suddenly slid off the path into an unseen hole and as I was attached and leaning on it, I started to fall head first into the hole. I shouted ‘Help, Lord!’ And in an instant, I was laying on my back being held up by, I don’t know what. I was in shock and thought it must be branches holding me. I didn't know how far down the ground was and twiddled my foot to try to find out. The next thing I knew, I was standing with the deep hole up to my neck and was aware of broken pipes near my feet, and rocks and large stones. With my bad knee, back and frozen shoulder, there was no way I could climb out. It was mid-morning, but no sun was shining into the hole but there were thick bramble bushes which had scratched my face and arm a lot.
Despite the impossibility of getting out, the next thing I knew I was up on the path and could walk away! I knew if I had not been stopped and turned somehow and held safe, I would have hit those broken pipes headfirst and most likely broken my neck. With everything covered by the bushes, it would have been a long time before anyone found me. This could only have been God’s angels. He saved me because there was no one and nothing else there that could have helped me.
Later God spoke to me through Psalm 91: He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. . . ‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘ I will rescue him. I will protect him for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble and I will honour him.' (Psalm 91:11- 12,14- 15) and: 'The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms.' (Deuteronomy 33:27)
I know He had saved my life. He told me, ‘It's not your time yet, you have things to do.’
That is such a wonderful testimony of God never slumbering and us always being in the forefront of His attention. Be encouraged by it and may you know His deep peace as you realise afresh that He is with you always and has already overcome all the enemy tries to put on us. You are held safe in His care just like our friend was.
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