I got your back

It seems like only in the movies, where enemy soldiers or alien creatures lurk do we hear someone say, “I got your back.”

It’s a potentially reassuring phrase, “I got your back!” Go forward without fear. Step out! Take a chance! Don’t worry about who may be sneaking up on you from behind, worry only about the enemy and adventure in front of you.

Unfortunately, we rarely hear the phrase, and when we do, can we truly trust the person to have our backs, to be looking out for us? This may sound a bit jaded, but I can count on only a very few people to really have my back. And if it came right down to it, there are not that many that can count on me.

The concept of “I got your back.” is not only protection, but an actual hand on our back. There is nothing more reassuring to a child than a hand on their back, except for maybe a hand-in-a-hand. And even adults feel protected if someone has a hand, a gentle but strong, guiding but not forcing, protecting but not sheltering hand in the middle of your back.

So why am I jaded? Surely I have fallen into this trap as well, but it seems that whenever someone says they have my back I have to wonder, how can they have my back when they are so busy protecting their own backside? The whole idea of having your back is that I care more about protecting you than I do my own safety. Alas, that is rare indeed.

In Genesis 15:1 God reminds Abram, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

And in Psalm 18:2 David says, “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

My mistake, and perhaps yours, has been to trust in people to watch your back. That rarely works, most of us are just too self-centered to live out Philippians 2:1-5 when the going gets really tough. But GOD always has your back.

Psalm 20:6-7 reminds us, “Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.“

People will let you down, they will be to busy looking out for their own backs, their own jobs, their own agendas, their own self-interest. Romans 5 reminds us that other-centeredness is very rare in us mortals; but God never lets us down, ever.

He’s got your back!