When Life Is a Zoo, the Lord Is Your Keeper (2 Prayers for the Lord to Keep You)
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Do you ever feel like your life is a zoo? Are your circumstances spinning out of control? Do you feel attacked on every side?
If so, the Lord gave me an encouraging word for you today out of Psalm 121. This passage says:
I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.5 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore” (NKJV).
The part I want to bring to your attention is the verse that says “The Lord is your keeper….” What does that mean exactly?
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It’s like a tiger at a zoo.
Picture this: you’re a tiger. You’ve been taken out of the wild and placed in a zoo. This zoo is foreign to you, and you can’t take care of yourself there. It’s not your natural environment.
So you have a keeper. This keeper takes care of you in every way. He gives you meat to eat and water to drink. He gives you medicine when you’re sick. He cleans up after you, and he even gives you toys to play with.
Why? Because you can’t care for yourself. You’re not in your natural environment, and so your keeper takes total care of you.
Beloved friend, like the tiger, you are not in your natural environment either.
You belong in Heaven. You came from the bosom of the Father, and one day you will return there. This world is not your home; you are a stranger here, what the Bible calls a sojourner. You’re camping out here because the Father sent you to accomplish a purpose.
But this world is not your home, and for that reason, you need a Keeper.
Your Heavenly Father is your Keeper.
You cannot care for yourself. You cannot feed yourself, shelter yourself, clothe yourself, comfort yourself, or care for yourself in any way. But the Father will keep you. He is your Keeper, and He will never leave you or forsake you.
Your Keeper is providing for all of your needs. He is feeding you, clothing you, and sheltering you. His arms are wrapped around you right now. He’s healing you and comforting you.
You are not alone.
Not a moment will go by in which He is not acutely aware of everything about you, and He will bring you everything you need at exactly the right moment.
Your Father sees you and knows you better than you know yourself. He knows the end from the beginning, and He knows what you need better than you do. His Word reassures us of this:
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
No matter what you’re going through today, the Lord is your Keeper. This world is not your natural environment, and you were not created to take care of yourself here. But He created both you and this world, and He’s going to keep you and take care of you always.
The Lord is your Keeper.
My friend, no matter what you’re going through today, would you meditate on this verse–that the Lord is your Keeper, that He is your shade upon your right hand, and that the sun shall not strike you by day nor the moon by night? I don’t know what you’re having to endure, but the Lord does, and He will keep you through it.
So how do you get through the stress, heartache, and trouble that are facing you today?
How do you survive until you get to Heaven? How do we keep on lasting and persevering when we feel like our perseverance muscles are worn out?
Several ways:
1. Ask the Lord to make His grace tangible in your life today.
Remember that He said His grace is sufficient for you, for His strength is made perfect in your weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). And if you’re like me, you’ve got plenty of weakness in which His strength can be manifest! So very often, I pray this:
“Lord, make Your grace tangible in my life today. Make it a tangible physical force that takes over all my weakness and manifests Your strength in me today.”
And every time I pray that, I see the answer. I feel the Lord and His precious Spirit coming up underneath me and lifting me on His everlasting arms. I feel Him carrying me through my day on His wings. I see Him helping me get through the day when I started out too stressed, too freaked out, and too frazzled to even begin to imagine I could make it through on my own.
2. Ask the Lord to make His Kingdom manifest in your life today.
The Kingdom of God is comprised of righteousness, peace, joy, and POWER. We see this in Romans 14:17 and 1 Corinthians 4:20:
“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).
and
“For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power” (1 Corinthians 4:20).
If you think about this, you can see that:
- “Righteousness” means everything being perfectly in right standing with God.
- “Peace,” in the original Greek, refers to everything being in perfect shalom with both God and man.
- “Joy” and “power” are self-explanatory.
So when you ask the Lord to make His Kingdom manifest in your life, that means you are asking Him to:
- Keep you from sinning against Him;
- Keep all of your relationships in perfect harmony, holiness, and right standing;
- Fill you with His joy;
- Fill you with His power; and
- Put His power to work on your behalf.
This is a powerful prayer.
I pray this prayer so often. Honestly, my work load is so intense that if it weren’t for the Lord, many days I feel like crawling into a closet and crying like a baby. But every morning, I sit down with the Lord and my Bible and confess my weakness. I don’t stop there, however. I then confess His strength and my faith in Him–and how I know HE will get me through. And He does, every time.
The Lord will get YOU through today, too.
This very day, He is ready and willing to come up underneath you and lift you. He is with you to hold you, protect you, and keep you. He is with you, right now, to fill you with His power, joy, peace, and to make everything in your life line up with His righteousness–which is who you are in Christ.
He is with you to keep you.
I feel His keeping power wrapping around you right now.
Years ago, the Lord gave me Psalm 121 as my inheritance word. I love that passage, but honestly I have often wondered why He gave me that particular passage. It isn’t even my favorite.
But you know what? Today, I understood.
I believe that the people who dream of doing something BIG for God often feel their weakness the most …
… which sets them up to receive His help the most.
Are you called to do something big for God? I believe you are. And if you can say “yes” to that question–and yet you feel weak, fragile, STRESSED, and oh-so-vulnerable–then you are in the perfect position to rest in the Lord and let Him keep you. You are in the perfect position to let His strength be made perfect in your weakness, so that the BIG thing you dream of can become reality.
… Because if we depend on ourselves, nothing will get done. But if we depend on the Lord, everything is possible.
As Jesus said in Matthew 19:26:
“But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'”
Beloved, let the Lord keep you today.
Fall into His everlasting arms and rest there while you depend and rely on Him. He will never let you down.
How do you need the Lord to keep you today? He has promised He will!
If this word speaks to your heart, leave a comment below and share what the Lord is saying to you!
And P.S.: Here’s a song to listen to that will help you remember. It’s the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir singing the Scripture passage above. Listen, worship, and let the Lord minister to you today!
Image courtesy of Dave Pape on Flickr.
Thanks so much for your post. Struggling with work issues and this was a great reminder and encouragement that the Lord has me. He is my help and provider for all things. A good reminder for me to cast all my cares upon him and stop trying to carry the load.
Amen! I pray your work issues will resolve quickly and that will Jesus will help you come to Him so He can give you rest! Thank you for reading!
Jamie i praise God for you, because right now i need these words. I am going through something right now, and it’s only God can bring me through this. This Psalms is so for me.
I never quite thought of it like that.
Hope it encouraged you, Rebecca! Thanks for reading!
This post could not have come at a better time. Thank you God. X
This is the first I’ve read this. What I know and what I’m feeling and experiencing are polar opposites. I have nothing left in me. I have no idea what God wants me to do and I am ready to lay down and let whatever comes come. I feel defeated.
Feel, not are. But you are not defeated. You are more than a conqueror. What you feel is not so important as to what we know He says about us. Hallelujah!
I was very inspired by what you wrote. I love the way you write, how you put things. It really makes you think, and the music was awesome. Always a blessing.
Thank you Jamie. This is so very comforting.
Amen!! That is what i needed to hear from my Father today!! Praise God and may HE continue to speak through you in Jesus name!
At the moment, things are on an even keel because He is helping me. The bigger thing is I am listening.
I will definitely refer back to this because I know I lose my aim and I start to pull into my own power and I want HIS power! Thank you for sharing and I enjoyed the music that accompanied your message. I pray this message all over the life of Jamie Rohrbaugh! Amen
Thank you Jamie. Been going through a battle with my son. This came at great time. Amen!
Thank you for this word I needed it this morning I was just so discouraged before reading your prayers and passage Keep being a blessing to us God bless you and yours
Please remember me in your prayers. I feel like the tiger had the hem of my pants in his month all the time!
“You’ve been taken out of the wild and placed in a zoo. This zoo is foreign to you, and you can’t take care of yourself there. It’s not your natural environment.” Jamie, thank you for this. That is how I feel, I’ve been taken out of the wild and placed in a zoo. It is so hard. My heart so needed to be reminded of these truths today. God brings me to Psalm 121 often when I am stressed and trying to do things in my own strength. Thank you for the reminder that HE is my keeper.
This came at a time when l needed it most. May God continue guiding and protecting you.
Blessings all through Jamie.
Thank You Jaime, So very often My mind is cluttered with the cares of the day. I pray every morning that God Would Order My Footsteps, and as soon as I Walk Out My Front door, All Hell Breaks Loose. I want To Do God’s Will so very badly and I stress it so often to him, but how can I work for God When I’m living from paycheck to paycheck and I have nothing to show for it. My family is pulling at me from all sides and I feel bad if I say No, but something in my life has to change and fast, because I am at the point of a meltdown. My name is Celeste M. Pray for my strength. Much Love and Know You Are Truly a Blessing.
Thank you for your amazing insight into this scripture. It is exactly how I feel and exactly what I need…I’ve been feeling like a wilted flower…or something like that!! The stresses of life ge t to be too much as you say but we only need to look to our keeper….Thank you God, four awesome Father…
This is a very very timely word for me today, and in this season. God also gave me psalm 121 many years ago and I also wasn’t sure why because it wasn’t one of my ‘favorites’ so I know what you mean 😊 but as I’m in a place now where the world feels like a ‘zoo’ around me, I can see the meaning today much more clearly. Thank SO MUCH for posting! We are in it NOT of it♥️
Thanks so much. Again! Just what I needed to hear! My washing machine broke this morning abnd flooded my 2nd floor apartment and I have been so stressed praying I haven’t caused water damage. I know that God is working it all out for my good. I feel so much better after reading this. Thank you! God Bless!
Thank you for sharing and encouraging. I struggle with PTSD, and many other issues. I am in great need and depend on The LORD to carry me through and provide.
Thank You Sister Jamie for your timely obedience! This Word I needed to hear right now! May God bless you indeed! Thank you Father God for your goodness, grace, peace & joy! I love you Lord, bless you.
Thank you Jamie this word came exactly the right time today I’m stressed broken heart sore feel like I cant go anymore but I know the Lord has me and I’m trully gratefull when I receive a much needed word from you I thank you from the bottom of my heart
Praise Jesus Jamie. Thank you for this WORD. Be blessed.
Thank you! Jamie, the word of God, and Prayers! Really, helped me on today. Please, keep them coming. I will do my part by supporting you! In the best way I can. Much Love ❤️ To You!
Hi Antwinette! Thank you so much! So glad Father blessed you!
Bless you Jamie for such encouraging message. I know it will lift me up to heal any wounds.
Thank you Jamie I definitely needed these word of encouragement during these times 🙏🏾
This is a beautiful devotion and came at a good time for me. I am saving it to read and listen to often as I need the reminder especially when feeling weak. The song is such a beautiful finish to the wonderful message. I live in the mountains and I look to the hills for strength often.
Surely, God’s love,kindness and mercies endures forever. whatever we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus believing him for it we receive.
The Lord Bless you woman of God. It was a timely word. Struggling with working with a difficult boss and a toxic work culture. May the oil on you never run dry. I call you Blessed.
Thank you for great encouragement at this moment my heart is so broken please pray for my husband to be delivered from the spirit of jezebel and restoration of our marriage.
Thank you for this encouragement. I awake at 13.00 in the morning unable to sleep as I there yet another hold up selling my house. I only have 14 days until I could lose the house I want to buy. I’ve been praying and believing God is able but I’m so weary and stressed that most nights I don’t sleep.
Please prayer for a speedy resolution and peace in my spirit again.
Thank you
Bless you Jaime!! God has blessed abundantly through your words today.Thank you for sharing God’s words and wisdom!