"He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber" -- Psalm 121:3 NLT
GOD never need to slumber, He is not only almighty, He is all awake! I think this is the answer to the question from the popular song "Natutulog ba ang Diyos?" The psalmist inspired by the Holy Spirit penned those words the One who watches over you will not slumber so that the truth of the ever-present God will be an incarnate truth to us.
Psalmist uses words not for the complicated minds of the intellectuals and theologians rather for the hurting hearts that cries for hope! Real credible, faith worthy kind of hope! God might be silent, yes, but not absent! While writing this devotional I have a lighted candle on my table. This lighted candle reminds me not to spiritualize and intellectualize or theologize the insights from this Psalm, it reminds me to respect the mystery of the ever-Present God. He is always there! His ways are very unpredictable, His presence is constant!
"He will not let you stumble" This is a promise of protection not exemption, meaning God's presence is the reliable hope that God is ahead, God is at the back, God is above, God is beneath. This highest and the holiest word of honor says "I've got your back", while the offer is generic, the effectively of it requires faith, faith in the One who made the oath! The truth of this Psalm is consistently drawing us to the source!
"He will not let you stumble" it's not a passive promise of aid, it's an active and dynamic involvement of His Presence, felt or not felt.
May the Lord open our eyes, and see the many things that God did not let us! Yes, God allowed many painful things to happen in our lives and it made us really doubt Him. How about the many things that God did not let us? Like "He will not let you stumble" this is really wrapped in mystery, yet it warms our frozen faith. Think about this, how many times we could have successfully destroyed ourselves, it did not happen because the He did not let us! Is He violating our freedom? No! He is fulfilling His word!
"He will not let you stumble" is God's protective shield that did not only protect us from evil, it has protected us from ourselves!
He puts limits so we will not over do a lot of things. He stops the Evil One from hurting Job, while allowing the evil one to fire his arrows at Job.
"He will not let you stumble" is not an exemption to the reality of life, it's a promise of God's Presence, and an assurance that nothing has and will ever slip His Sovereignty!
"He will not let you stumble" made the worst of tragedy as a venue where we can find God. "He will not let you stumble "granted us abundant grace to see our dreams come true and to still find hope when those dreams are shattered. The truth behind the joy and the sufferings of life, the fulfilled and shattered dreams of our youth, the wise and foolish choices we made and will make, is not a God who overly protected His children, but a good God, who says "I will not allow you to stumble!" I cannot over stretch this truth to my convenience, I think this now requires faith that respects mystery rather than "proof" that feeds the ego.
"The One who watches over you will not slumber" is a statement that attempts to unveil a spiritual and literal reality that words cannot describe, here faith takes over. God, the source of help, the source of strength is ever aware and awake! I think we should humbly repent when the raw realities of this life take over the realities of God's promise. I think what kept Stephen and the rest the martyrs of faith is that they saw the ever present and ever awake God who made the solemn promise of His Presence! Now in the midst of this Covid-19 terror, let us look above and see things from another perspective. Natutulog ba ang Diyos? "he who watches over you will not slumber" is the answer. From time to time, I go back to the song I have loved in the early days of my life, a papuri song, entitled "Isang Psalmo" it says "O Diyos sa bawat tagumpay turuang magbigay ng papuring alay!" "Aking Diyos kabiguan man din sumaaking piling ako ay akayain" "Aking Diyos turuan akong magtiwala sa Iyo sa landas ng buhay ko" every time I sing this song, God calms my fear and gently whisper "He will not let you stumble and the one who watches over you will not slumber" The source is now my sufficiency!
As we acknowledge the source of help, and believe in the sufficiency of his presence, I think the appropriate response to this simple theology is a sincere doxology! In this horrific and chaotic time of Covid-19 let's worship God from our pain, and see His Presence transform our pain to praise! Every time I am confronted by the realities of life, every time worry hits me in my heart, I choose to run to the One who has been there an ever awake God who watches over his own! Amen.