When HE Protects our "Feet"

He has preserved our lives,
and kept our feet from slipping.

~Psalm 66:9

So this week's verse has me thinking quite a bit about protection. Not only the kind of safeguards I mentioned in Monday's video - where God may have literally preserved our lives - but also the ways He protects our feet. Or, more accurately, our hearts. The psalms contain several verses about slipping feet, and today I would like to look at a few of them with you.

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him.

~Psalm 40:1-3

I do not know what kind of pit David was referring to when he wrote this psalm. Not sure what the mud and mire was in which he had been stuck, but I bet it was something to which we can all relate.
And what do we see God doing for David in verse 2? How did his footing change?
What about you?
What kind of muck have your feet been in? (Or maybe you're in some right now...)
In what ways have you seen God set your feet on a rock?

1 Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.

2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

~Psalm 73:1-3

In this psalm, the writer (Asaph) says his foot had almost slipped. What, according to verse 3, was the cause of his near mishap?
Asaph spends the next 19 verses discussing his struggles and finally comes to this conclusion:

23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

~Psalm 73:23-26

Based upon Asaph's own judgment, how did God keep his feet from slipping?

16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
17 Unless the Lord had given me help,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
18 When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
19 When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought me joy.

~Psalm 94:16-19

Psalm 94 is full of lament, and a request for God to judge the arrogant. (You may click on the link to read the entire psalm if you wish!)
Verses 16-17 give you a taste of his distress.
But then we get to verses 18 and 19. How did God respond to the psalmist's trouble?
(By the way, "consolation" could also be translated "comfort".)

And let us close with this beautiful assurance.

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

~Psalm 121:1-4

May your spirit rest securely in the knowledge that the LORD is watching over you today. With confidence that HE will keep your feet from slipping.