"Preservation"

"Preserve me, O God: for in Thee do I put my trust." (Psalms 16:1) When it comes to being confident, there is always certainty associated with anything or anyone that we have confidence in. Anyone who puts their trust in riches, or who places confidence in the financial systems of this world, has recently become aware that there is no certainty associated with wealth. In this same venue, there is no certainty that we can have in man; nor can we place our trust in anything that this world might have to offer us, including that of love given to us by our fellow man; although, we expect it, and are fooled by it, time and time again. Going back to something I said yesterday, and the engraving upon our hearts, God has placed something in us that is etched upon our hearts; something that may sometimes get covered over, but nonetheless, it is etched there, and is always available to be viewed, but sometimes may require some sweeping away of  the dust and dirt that settles over it. This word "Preserve" is something that means to watch over, as in to protect and keep from harm; much like a hedge of protection, or a safe place where there is a watchman who stands guard, as would a shepherd in the night guard over his sheep. The more you think about this concept of His protection, the more you can see the areas of our lives that we leave unprotected; in other words, we do not place everything in His care, therefore, not everything gets protected. One thing that comes to mind that might fall into this category, would be our mind, and how often we fail to seek His protection over all that enters into our minds. It's really not a matter of letting our guard down, but more a matter of not letting God gaurd that area of our life! Why would we take that chance, or leave that area unprotected? Could it be that we want to be able to dream without restrictions being placed upon our minds? In the area of putting all of our trust in God, we must be willing to place everything into His care! Another way to look at this matter of  being preserved, is to consider what is meant by preservation, and how that requires an element of keeping whatever is being preserved free from that which will cause it to spoil or rot. For example, ceratin foods the we consume are packaged in packages that are meant to perserve them, besides having perservatives in them, they also require being kept protected; when left unprotected for any length of time, they become spoiled or are changed from fresh into something less desirable. This is how God's preservation process works in us: where He is in us, preserving us with His ingredients; and we abide in Him, being preserved from the elements...