A number of years ago my son and I were stopped at a light, waiting to turn left from the off-ramp of the 15 South and onto Ninth Avenue, heading east. We were the first car at the light. As it turned green, I headed into the intersection and was plowed into by a car that had blown a tire and couldn’t stop in time. Everyone was okay, but my car was totaled. (However, I still drove it for another couple of years! But that’s another story for another time.) While the outside of the car was wrecked, the lives of the people inside the car were still safe and protected.
When the psalmist writes in Psalm 121:7 that the LORD will watch over our lives, I think it’s helpful to think about what He really is protecting. The Hebrew word that the ancient songwriter intentionally chooses to use is the word nephesh. Perhaps you’ve heard of it before? Nephesh is used in Genesis 2:7 to describe man becoming a living being after the LORD God breathes life into his body. The nephesh is the soul or inner being of all people. It is not the outer shell we know as the body. It is Scott and Jordan inside the car, it is not the Kia Sedona in which they were riding. It is what the psalmist says will be kept from all harm.
As I reflect on this truth, I think, “Now we’re getting somewhere! Now I have something I can sink my teeth into and offer my praise to God for.” Here’s the great news that this passage points us to – He will never let anything happen to that part of me or you that is truly me or you. And when something eventually does happen to our body, we have the rock-solid promise and hope of resurrection. In His time, our soul will be reunited with a new, glorified body. The news just keeps getting better.
Today, it’s my prayer that you’ll be reminded that the LORD God will never let anything happen to that part of you that is truly you. Lots may happen to your body, but nothing can ultimately touch your soul. He’s got you.
Scott Smith
Connection and Growth Pastor