Preserve Me from Me

In my devotions today, I read from passages in Jeremiah 10 and Psalms 121. These verses jumped out at me:

Jeremiah 10.23, 24 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

Psalms 121.7, 8 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

These verses tell me that I am not to depend on my own discernment or judgement: my way is not in myself, it is not in me to direct my own steps. Jeremiah reminds me that, when I do so, I will fall into sin. When that happens, I must cry out to God Almighty to correct me, but with judgment, not in His anger.

God promises, in Psalms 121, to preserve me from all evil – He will preserve my soul, He will preserve my going out and my coming in. Even when I depend on myself, even when I forget (or decide not) to follow Him, He will preserve my soul, evermore because I am His.

So I know I can rest in Him. I don’t want to become complacent in Him – Heaven forbid. But I may do my best to know Him and to obey Him, and therein lies my peace, my joy, my rest.

I like peace and joy and rest a lot. I am glad and blessed that my Lord offers me these gifts, just for the taking.