Dawn Dyson
- Jan 15, 2022
- 5 min read

Keep

Keep (téreó): to hold fast (tightly); to literally (physically) and figuratively (spiritually) guard; to watch (over); to have one’s eye on (continually); to maintain intact; to preserve (in its original, perfected, innocent state).

Revelation 3:10-12 (AMPC) reads:

Because you have guarded and kept My word of patient endurance [have held fast the lesson of My patience with the expectant endurance that I give you], I also will keep you [safe] from the hour of trial (testing) which is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell upon the earth.

I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one may rob you and deprive you of your crown.

He who overcomes (is victorious), I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God; he shall never be put out of it or go out of it, and I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which descends from My God out of heaven, and My own new name.

Patience never runs out, or it isn’t patience. Here we see the eternal nature of God, which God asks us to reflect via lifelong endurance (vs. 10, 11). “If you keep My Word, I will keep you.” Both sides of the offer have the same verb with endless duration. We are to guard (téreó) God’s Word forever, and forever we will be kept safe (téreó) by God Who keeps it. God’s promise is a circle, like a pure gold wedding band, and it tests our faithfulness. If we watch over the Word of God on this earth until Christ come, God will watch over us no matter what happens here for a climax. There is no fear in perfect Love (see 1 John 4:18).

Faith is a much stronger link than we think.

The trial, or peirazo, in verse ten, is a complete trial—a test for every soul, on every topic, in every conceivable realm. The term is positive and negative, both—colliding at the same time. Just like in school, some students didn’t study, didn’t put the time into the text, and the exam caused them anxiety (if they cared somewhat), or caused rebellion and failure to display altogether (if they did not care at all)—negative experiences every one, causing a cycle of dread to manifest in their everyday existence, sometimes lasting for years. However, other students cared enough to respect the educational process and humbly accept their long-term place in it. They listened to their Teacher—put their time in and worked at it. If you were the latter type, you studied diligently and did your part to apply your gifts and push your capabilities into the unknown to make yourself grow and develop. Then, when the exam came across your desk, you could breathe and focus. You did your best with it—ahead of time. You had an element of trust in the phenomenon that God built you to know things. With experience, you realized you could rely on Him for recall and trust Him with the results, and the forward use of it all.

For the diligent, the highpoint is the Word itself.

For the slothful, the highpoint is the trial.

What we focus on, or magnify, takes first place in our lives.

We do not have to be perfect in our own right (we do need Jesus), but we should be prepared (with Perfection indwelling). And if we were once rebellious, we can change (by His grace). The point is—whatever the past, whatever our personality or gifts—we are to arrive at a point in life where we realize we are here to learn, and we are here to know, God Himself. “Hold fast to what you know…” the passage says. Hold fast to Me. Hold fast to the Word of God, which attests to Me. You can trust Me.

This world is a testing ground.

We are examined on our faith.

Our investment in the Word of God pays dividends during crises.

Do you know God? Are you putting your time in, preparing? Are you guarding the Word on this earth by faith, being diligent to become an “epistle read of all men”?

You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart (2 Corinthians 3:2-3, NKJV).

Are you getting through the grey days with light inside? Do you give yourself recesses? When the Word of God is written on your heart, Christ’s name is being written on you—all things new.

Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls (Matthew 11:29, AMPC).

Do not forget to enjoy your life while you are learning new things (see John 10:10)!

When you tuck the Word of God in your mind thought by thought, fold it carefully into your soul layer by layer, and refuse to let the world knock it out of you, you (by God’s phenomenal design and Personal assistance) overcome the world and every trial in it (see John 16:33). You have treasure, like a crown, that no one can steal from you.

God is saying in verse ten, “If you will, I will.” It is the ultimate dare—a challenge, a request, a command…a supreme test of your loyalty and skill. It is an ASK, of the noblest and sweetest kind. It is also a forever sort of promise, evidence of an eternal relationship built on faith which cannot be broken no matter how it is tested. It is an invitation to fill a seat in the Throne Room of God, for all Eternity to come. God wants you with Him, and He’s asking you to be victorious now. Do you believe? The knowledge of God creates a powerful unity which ultimately turns the trials of life into opportunities, not failures—every, single one.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28, KJV).

God, already knowing what you are made of,

wants you to know.

Remember, God made you to speak the same language that He does—it is not the language of a coward (see Revelation 21:5-8, AMPC). He wants you to hold to the same vision He has—it is described very plainly in His Word. There is no way to go other than forward here, so trust God’s process. He will teach you to push your capabilities into the unknown—to press, to grow, to develop, to care. Stay in the Word and guard it your whole life long. When you keep God’s Word inside you, it becomes your shield and buckler in every type of battle (see Psalm 91:4).

Hold fast to what you know and you have nothing to fear.

God bless you, and God KEEP you.

Amen.

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC),

Used by permission. www.lockman.org

Darby: Public Domain.

Helps Word Studies. “3985. Peirazo.” Discovery Bible. Accessed January 15, 2022 at https://biblehub.com/greek/3985.htm

King James: Public Domain.

Tereo definition paraphrased/author’s based upon:

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. “5083. Tereo.” Accessed January 15, 2022 at https://biblehub.com/greek/5083.htm

Helps Word Studies. “5083. Tereo.” Discovery Bible. Accessed January 15, 2022 at https://biblehub.com/greek/5083.htm

DAWN DYSON