We hear the word quite often, usually followed by a second word that brings detail to the instruction.  The word is “keep.”  And we hear things like “keep up,” “keep on, “keep still,” or “keep looking.”  I’m thinking that very often, applying those things in life can be hard and sometimes quite disheartening.  It can be hard to “keep up” when life throws its busy schedules at us.  “Keep on” in the face of trials?  Easier said than done.  Swirling confusion with circumstances and decisions sure makes it hard to “keep still.”  And “keep looking” sometimes seems useless when the looking comes up empty over and over.  But there’s good news from God’s word!  Today’s topic came to me as I read from 1 Peter 1.  I’ve always loved verse 5.  The previous verses speak of what we have in Christ, and the following verses speak of what we face in life.  Verse 5 gives the assurance that the believer is “kept by the power of God”!  “Kept.”  A lot of meaning there.  Guarded, preserved, defended.  And it’s handled by the omnipotent power of God.  I’m glad I don’t have to keep myself saved; God does that.  I’m kept when life gets crazy busy.  I’m kept when life gets hard.  I’m kept when the unknown swirls around me.  I’m kept when I can’t see what I’m looking to find.  Kept by the power of God.  I have been kept; I am kept; I will be kept.  Keep up?  Keep on?  Keep still?  Keep looking?  Sometimes I just can’t.  That’s why I’m glad that when I can’t “keep,” I have the promise that I am “kept”!