“Do you mind keeping my kids next Tuesday?” That’s how folks used to request childcare growing up in South Alabama. I have vivid memories of being “kept” by my MaMa (mom’s side), my MeMa (spirited great-grandmother on mom’s side), my grandmother (dad’s side), all my aunts, and an elderly lady my parents paid to be my nanny. My sister, six years my elder, “kept” me at home every summer and after school once she reached the appropriate age.
It never seemed like a strange synonym for babysitting until I moved out of the Deep South. It sometimes takes years of removal and puzzled looks from neighbors to realize that not everyone talks the same way. I remember participating in a language debate in my first Kentucky summer after someone asked me to “chuck” him the football. “You mean ‘chunk’?” I replied. Soon the whole party of young men joined forces to inform me I was the strange talker. “Chuck” is my dad’s name. “Chunk” is what you do with a ball. I’ll forever take my stand. I don’t need Kentuckians telling this Alabama boy what to do with a football.
To “keep,” used in this way, means to “cause to continue in a specified condition, position, or course.” That’s what my parents were asking people to do when they requested that their children be “kept.” They wanted caretakers to keep us alive while they worked or took a trip out of town. They expected to return and find us in the same condition we were in when they left us. You “keep” a child like you “keep” a garden. Make sure he gets watered and fed and protect him from any danger.
Sometimes when I’m praying, I get pleasantly overwhelmed with a sense of God having “kept” me. I can look back on episodes from my life and see that God’s mercy is the only reason I’m still here. I recall times, for example, when I wanted something so badly that I thought I would die if I didn’t get it—times when I daily cried out to God to grant me my desires. In hindsight, I see that many of God’s refusals, though painful at the time, are today evidences of his grace. I probably would have ruined my life many times had he given me what I wanted.
I can recall times when my faith was weak, and I went through the motions with no passion and no affection. During those dry seasons, I’m sure I was susceptible to soul-destroying temptation. Yet God protected me from danger. He did not allow me to face peril that I couldn’t withstand. He preserved my soul even when my soul had no strength of its own. He “kept” me.
I’ve been a Christian nearly a quarter century now. If I had to come up with one word that best describes how I’ve made it thus far, I’m not sure I could improve on “kept.” He’s kept my marriage (so far). He’s kept me from ruining my children (so far). He’s kept me faithful in life and in ministry (so far). I can take no credit. Even when I think about times when I successfully resisted temptation, I know that he put his Spirit in me causing me to desire Christ, he measured out the degree of the test so that I could withstand, and he regenerated my heart so that righteousness appealed to me more than sin. He’s a God who keeps his own. He preserves his children until the end.
God instructed Aaron the priest to continually remind Israel of this truth with these words: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Num 6:24-26).
The psalmist wondered from where his help comes before concluding, “My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper” (Ps 121:2-5).
The Lord Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). He keeps his own. No one can take his sheep from his hand.
Paul provides the theological categories for God’s keeping grace: “For those who he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Rom 8:29-30). From eternity past to eternity future, his chosen people are kept secure in his mighty hands until the destination is reached—eternal glory.
Child of God, are you aware of God’s keeping grace? Have you thanked God for having “kept” you thus far? It’s a glorious truth. Make sure you know about it.
What a gift of grace to be kept by a loving God through highs and lows, joys and trials, sleepless nights and seasons of rest. Thanks for this reminder today, Casey!