The Lord is your keeper… The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (Ps. 121:5, 7-8) 

Let’s look at that word “keeper”. As our keeper, the Lord protects, guards, takes care of us, and keeps us in good condition. 

If you own a modern refrigerator, you likely have at least one “crisper” drawer—a special contained area to keep your fruits and vegetables fresh longer. For vegetables, especially green, leafy, ones, the drawer serves to keep humidity out, so the veggies don’t wilt or go bad too quickly.

In fact, I recently read that if we line that drawer with paper towel, the towel will soak up any moisture that creeps in, so it doesn’t get to the veggies and do damage to it. We can also place fresh greens in paper-towel-lined zip-up bags and pressing out all the air before completely zipping them so they stay extra fresh even longer—something I learned as a girl from my mom.

Reading Ps. 121:7-8 reminded me of those drawers, towels, and zip-up bags, as well as the whole refrigerator. They’re all designed to keep food in good condition for as long as possible.

Unfortunately, even the best ‘frig, drawers, etc. can’t completely keep perishables from rotting and wilting. That’s why that type of food is called “perishables”.

Thankfully, unlike food “keepers”, the Lord can keep our life from rotting. Granted, our bodies do decay. We don’t even need to look in the mirror to notice that!

But, as it says in 2 Cor. 4:16, “…do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” 

That’s great news— it means we can be encouraged by focusing on the renewal, rather than feeling discouraged by focusing on the wasting away!

Does this mean the Lord will protect our spirits, souls, minds, and hearts from any and all harm no matter what?

Yes and no. Yes, as long as we stay nestled in His keeping/guarding/care. No if we stray away from it. Can you imagine veggie greens deciding they’re tired of the constraint of being stuck in a bag in a crisper drawer and jumping out to “freedom”? How long would they last, before they wilt, rot, or even get trampled on?

Similarly, we can’t step out from a bomb shelter and expect to be protected from an air-raid. Nor can we close our umbrella while walking in a rainstorm and be surprised if we get wet.

So yes, the Lord and His protective, guarding, caring, preserving, keeping is always there for us—that’s Who He is. But we have to stay with and in Him!

When we do, He guards us, the way a good dad protects his family and keeps them safe from intruders. Except that, though the dad may not always be able to do that against someone stronger than him, the Lord can never be “outgunned”, outmanned, or outsmarted. That’s why, under His protection, “no weapon that is formed against [us] can prosper” (Is. 54:17).

As for the Holy Spirit, Third Person of the Trinity—think of Him as that “added” protective, preserving, paper-towel lining that really keeps us in good condition! (Except He never gets limp and soggy like those towels do)

What does it mean to stay “fresh” in Him?

• We never stagnate—we keep learning and growing in faith and character, like those Paul thanked “because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing” (2 Thes. 1:3).
• We exude a pleasant “fragrance” and demeanor, so that others are glad to be around us. “…thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Cor. 2:14)
• We have edifying and healthy relationships. Our words and actions bring life and encouragement to those around us. “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body” (Prov. 16:24). “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29).
• We don’t rot— our thought life stays wholesome, without decay, bitterness, or any “stinking thinking” that produces harm to ourselves or others. “…walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). (See also Gal. 5:17-25).
• We flourish and remain productive throughout our entire life, never drying up. The Holy Spirit continues to flow in and through us, empowering us and making all our outcomes fruitful.

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree… planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green…” (Ps. 92:12-14)

The Lord is available as our Keeper. With the Spirit in us and us walking in the Spirit, we’ll always stay fresh and good. So, “lettuce” (let us) wrap ourselves in Him!