Going out. Coming in.
There is an old Sting song that many of us remember. It goes like this: “Every breath you take and every move you make, every bond you break, every step you take I’ll be watching you…” I used to like that song a lot when I was growing up. But I doubt Sting realized he was echoing something far older than a pop lyric. What he captured in poetic form, the Hebrew Scriptures had already expressed in covenant language: “your going out and your coming in.”
This short Hebrew expression shows up again and again in the Old Testament. It is a way of speaking about the whole of life — every movement, every decision, every ordinary step lived under God’s watchful care. When the young King Solomon first takes the throne after David’s death, he prays, “I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in” (1 Kings 3:7). Solomon is not talking about walking through doorways. He is asking God for wisdom — for guidance in every decision, every judgment, every responsibility of leadership. In other words, “Lord, help my going out and my coming in.”
The same language becomes worship in Psalm 121: “The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” This Song of Ascents is a confession that God does not merely observe life — He guards it. He keeps it. Every breath you take, every move you make, the Lord is watching over His people.
When we come to Matthew’s account of Jesus’ temptation (Matthew 4:1–11), we see this truth lived out perfectly in the life of Christ. Matthew gives us what we might call bookends to the story. The passage opens by telling us that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness (v.1). His going out was directed by the Father Himself. And the passage closes with angels coming and ministering to Him (v.11). His coming in is attended by heaven. From beginning to end, the Father is guarding the Son’s going out and coming in.
This pattern continues throughout Jesus’ ministry. Luke tells us that in Gethsemane, under the crushing weight of the cross, “an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him” (Luke 22:43). Hebrews explains the role of these heavenly servants: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14). What we see in the wilderness is not merely a dramatic encounter with the devil; it is a revelation of how God keeps His people.
First, Jesus truly suffers temptation like the rest of us. Hebrews reminds us that we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in every respect as we are — yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). The wilderness is real. The hunger is real. The pressure is real. Our Lord did not float above human testing; He entered into it fully.
Second, Jesus shows us how to resist temptation. Each time the tempter speaks, Jesus answers with the Word of God. The word of the Tempter is silenced by the Word of the Lord. His going out and coming in is governed, directed, and steadied by Scripture. In this way, He not only overcomes — He shows us the path of faithfulness.
Third, we learn that the Word of God is meant to guide our going out and coming in as well. Trials and temptations are not signs that God has abandoned us. Very often, they are the very arena where our faith is revealed and strengthened. It should not be missed that Jesus is intentionally led by the Spirit into the wilderness. And it is there — not in comfort, not in ease — that His greatness first shines. Where Israel failed in the wilderness, Jesus stands firm. He proves Himself to be the faithful Son, the true and better Israel.
So it is with us. God does not always prevent trials from entering your life. At times, He allows you to be exposed to the wiles of the devil — not to destroy your faith, but to reveal it, refine it, and strengthen it. Peter says it plainly: “…so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold…—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6–7). We do not like the wilderness, but it is often the training ground for faith. We do not like trials, but trials teach us to rely not on our own strength, but on God’s Word and God’s Spirit.
The real question becomes this: Do you trust God to guard your going out and your coming in? Because if you do, you will have to live like it. The Christian life is learning to live every ordinary moment under God's keeping care. It believes, prays, and acts as though Psalm 121 is actually true — that the Lord really does keep His people.
But the life that does not believe this begins to drift. It sees little value in being taught God’s Word. It quenches the Spirit rather than walking by the Spirit. It becomes more at home in the wilderness of self-directed living than in the ordered life of the Kingdom. In doing so, it slowly steps outside the very means God has given to guard its going out and coming in. Matthew 4 reminds us that the faithful life is not the easy life — but it is the kept life.
So may we learn to walk as Jesus walked: guided by the Word, strengthened by the Spirit, and kept by the Father. May the Lord guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Peace be with you,
Pastor Bruce
