He strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your people within you.
He grants peace to your borders
and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
and blesses your people within you.
He grants peace to your borders
and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
Psalm 147 v 13-14 NIV
Some years ago, I had the opportunity to serve on several of the BMS World Mission Short Term Placements. Perhaps the most memorable and significant for me, and where there was also a measure of risk, safety concern, and culture adaptation, were the times spent in Herat, Afghanistan, teaching in the International School, and teaching in the Pre School-Education Projects, in Luanda, Angola.
In Herat, the accommodation was securely behind high walls and there was always a gate keeper on duty, especially at night. Before I left the compound in the morning to walk to school, the gate keeper’s job was to open the heavy wooden and barred gate. He would walk down to this gate at the end of a long passageway, look out, then walk to the main road, to check that everything was safe. In the early weeks it was safe to walk alone to school or to go by tuktuk. But on some days, he would have to walk me to the school- a job which he hated as he did not want to be seen by others with a westerner. He would walk a long way behind me. But his main job was to guard that heavy gate to the compound. There’s a picture of The Herat Gate at the top of this article.
In Angola, a nurse, a teacher and I shared a house. My role was to teach in the newly established Pre School-Education Projects (PEP’s) placed in Luanda. The PEPs were often a two-hour drive away on dreadful roads. At night, there was a gate keeper at the door of the house. He sat all night in a small marquee in front of the house, and his role was to look out for anything suspicious or any threat. Many of the houses on the road had a similar night guard or gate keeper, and we would often hear them whistling and calling to each other through the night, alerting other guards to any possible threat. His was a nighttime role only, as during the day the driver of the jeep provided the protection needed as we travelled to the different projects in the areas where few westerners would be allowed to go, but where the need for the PEP was greatest.
I remember that heavy wooden gate with its strong bars across, the high walls of protection around the compound and the gate keeper. The gate keepers and guards were essential to safety and a measure of calm and peace of mind.
Psalm 147 begins and ends with the words’ Praise the Lord!’ It is a psalm which encourages us to praise Him for His protection and care. He is the all-powerful, creative God. Our God is the One who provides for us, gives security, strength, and peace. He strengthens the bars of our gates so that we can always feel safe and secure. He protects those that are within. He grants His peace to our borders
In heaven, there will be no need to lock or guard a gate as the gates will be permanently open. The gates will never be closed. There will be no need to feel unsafe or vulnerable, there will be no darkness but only light.
“The gates of the city will stand open all day; they will never be closed, because there will be no night there.” Revelation 21. V 25
But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Yes, I am the Gateway. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. John 10