“Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”
Psalm 121:4
As a mom, I’ve spent many nights laying next to a child of mine who is having a hard time relaxing or falling asleep. I lay nearby stroking his or her hair or back, speaking calming words or prayers over them while inwardly praying that they would give in to sleep that I know they desperately need.
I feel such a protection in reading this verse that it’s one I come back to over and over again. I think it’s because I have this mental picture of our Heavenly Father doing something similar over us.
When I’m laying next to my child and focusing on soothing and comforting them, I usually don’t fall asleep myself because I’m focused on meeting their current needs. But I’ll have to admit that there have been times when I’ve been so exhausted that I may have even fallen asleep before my sweet son or daughter did! (oops...)
The beauty of the promise found in this verse is that our Father would never do this with us. It is outside of His perfect nature to need rest the way we humans do. The all-sufficient all-Sovereign One never grows tired or weary. He never falls asleep while listening to us. He doesn’t need to rest, so He can protect us while we are resting.
When we know we have Someone watching over us at all times, we can leave our anxiety with Him and rest knowing He’s always on guard watching over us. We are always safe and held under the watch care of El Roi, the God who Sees.
Because of that, when He calls us to rest, we can freely and safely follow.
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