For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.   Psalm 91:11 NASB

Guard  - Human trials and temptations often leave us feeling as if we are all alone in this life.  In our struggles we imagine that no one really knows us under our skin.  We sometimes feel that even a spouse doesn’t penetrate those deep recesses of fear or shame or anxiety.  Perhaps more than any other need in life, we want someone to love us for who we truly are.  God knows this is one of our deepest needs.  So He sends someone to help.

This word (shamar) in all its forms is used more than 400 times in the Old Testament.  Its basic meaning is to watch over with great care.  It is used to describe actions of the night watch over a city and the careful tending of a garden.  Most frequently, the verb describes rigorous adherence and adoration for God’s laws and covenants.  This word carries great power.  It is not just about ritual compliance or perfunctory observance.  It expresses a deep and abiding concern that God’s commandments form the very fabric of life.  The word is expanded to scenes of tending a flock of sheep, watching a gate and even showing respectful consideration for another person and for God Himself.

When God gives His angels charge over us, this is no small matter.  Their charge from God is no less sacred than the admonition to guard the Law.  God’s very character is expressed in His Torah.  Ordered, just and true, it is the foundation of Man’s relationship to Him, and the reason that Christ came to die for us.  This is very important.  The fact that angels exercise divinely ordered care over us only demonstrates how uniquely valuable every one of us is.  Think about it.  God actually enlists spiritual beings to watch over you and me.  They are there as the soldiers of the night, protecting us.  They are there in moments of trial, directing us.  They tend to us like professional gardeners.  They guide us like shepherds.  Today, at this very moment, someone is watching over you – and God told him to do it!  How does that make you feel?

Topical Index: guard, shamar, angels, Psalm 91:11