Surrounded

We have constant reminders in the Bible telling us that God is always with us, but I think it's easy to forget or overlook that. So often we struggle to live in our own strength. We succumb to feelings of loneliness and wonder why God lets us feel so alone. We face pain and wonder why it seems like we're left to carry our troubles by ourselves. Despite the support of family and friends, at the end of the day, maybe we feel like we are totally alone. They can offer us help, prayer, and encouragement, but in the end, whatever we face in life, we feel like we are facing by ourselves. Friends can't literally take the pain away from us. Family members can't lift the struggles or stress off our shoulders. People can't be with us at every moment; they can't give us the best advice. In the end, they will fail us as much as we will fail them.

But God is there. We can't physically feel Him or see Him, and so we tend to overlook that. We tell ourselves He is in us but sometimes we are so overcome with our sense of being alone or our personal struggles that we can't feel Him there. We can't see Him at work.

Maybe that's why I find this verse encouraging:

"As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people from this time forth and forever."

--Psalm 125:2

Yes, we know as believers that God is always with us, always in us. But to picture Him surrounding us, hemming us in on every side, is comforting. After all, mountains are solid. They aren't easily moved or climbed. No, our God is like a constant, immovable, impenetrable shield always surrounding His people. He's not just with us--He totally encircles us.

He's all about us, all the time, in every aspect of our lives. There isn't a portion of our life that can be hidden away from Him; a place in our hearts that is so walled off and guarded that He cannot totally fill it. The "sides" of our lives--those problems that maybe we bury deep within ourselves so that others can't even see if they try--are acknowledged by God. He sees everything, and He is there for us through it all. He doesn't overlook, forget, or misunderstand a single aspect of our lives. That's because every part of our lives is important to Him. He embraces every part of you.

He Rejoices

"The LORD your God in your midst,

The Mighty One, will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.”

-Zephaniah 3:17

Can you imagine God rejoicing over you to the point that He breaks out in song?

So often we attribute such "strong" and "fatherly" characteristics to God that it's almost like we think it is unlike His character to show such a wild display of love for us. We agree that He is our Father, that He shelters us, provides for us, watches over us, plans a great future for us, hold us in His arms in love, corrects us when we stray, and always forgives and welcomes us with a loving embrace. We see Jesus teaching and reaching out to the poor, the sinners, the broken, the sick. He has compassion on us and even cries. But how many times do we close our eyes and imagine God singing?

Maybe I'm the only one, but I don't really picture God singing over anyone. He spoke Creation into existence with authority; He spoke and demons trembled and fled from His presence. Yet somehow to try to begin to comprehend what it would be like to hear and see Him sing seems overwhelming to me. Perhaps that's because I can only think of God's voice and song to be the most beautiful thing we will ever hear, the most wonderful sight we will ever see. And to think that we are the reason for His song of rejoicing--that we cause such a powerful expression of joy...well, that's something that gives greater encouragement, more comfort, deeper peace, and stronger joy than anything else.

We spend our worship singing praises to Him, or listening to praise songs. Whether we can sing or not, we lift up our voices when we hurt and when we rejoice in order to bask in His presence and show our devotion to Him. I don't know about everyone else, but I'd never imagined Him singing back to us. When we sing, when we laugh, when we cry, when we turn to Him for answers or just to thank Him for who He is, what words of love is He singing over us?

Sacrificing Isaac

How did Abraham feel as he walked up the mountain, holding that knife in his hand? His young son walked beside him bearing the very wood that Abraham was supposed to burn him on. To say Abraham was afraid is probably an understatement. After all, he had just been given the most traumatic struggle of his life. Nothing before or after this pain could likely compare to this—this choice he had to make. Every step would have felt like trying to move legs of lead. The knife was icy cold in his trembling hand. When Isaac, his dear son, turned to him with his inquiring, innocent face and asked where the sacrifice was, Abraham felt like the knife could have been buried in his own heart. How many times did he question himself, question God? More times than he or we could count.

How many times have we climbed this mountain in our own lives? Trials weigh us down, impossible choices lie before us, and we ask God why we are facing this struggle. We question everything. Maybe all we do is ask a simple, “Why?” Why is my grandma fighting stage three cancer? Why does my brother have to hurt so much, and why can’t I do anything about it? Why do I have to face my worst fears? Why am I sick and weak when I need to be strong? Why did You bring this person into my life, God, only to take them away from me? Why did You let this happen?

It is during these times that we have to make a choice. Our “Isaac” is whatever is dear to us, whatever it feels as if God is ripping away from us. Sometimes we trust Him. We painstakingly offer up our hearts, our lives, our dearest wishes and hopes and dreams. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like we have any choice in the matter anyway; God has asked us to do it, and either we run from Him and face the pain, or face it with Him. We choose whether to have faith, or whether to doubt, to be angry, to grow bitter.

Did Abraham consider running down that mountain? Countless times, just like everyone does. Some people do, and find that “Isaac” must still be sacrificed. Would Abraham rather have run that knife into his own heart than ever touch his son? Of course, but he had seen God grant him impossible promises before. Isaac himself was a miracle from God, granted when Abraham and Sarah were far too old to have a child. He knew if he trusted God, he would be blessed. God had promised him as many descendants as there were stars in the sky, and Isaac was a confirmation of that promise. Abraham didn’t know what pain would come about as a result of trusting God, or how God was going to get him out of this new tragedy in his life. He didn’t understand why God was even asking this of him. But he had faith to climb the mountain and offer up the greatest treasure of his heart.

I Can Do All Things

Sometimes life just gets rough. It hits you in the face and then kicks you once it's knocked you to the ground. Even the little things can feel like big things when they're piled on top of each other, one after the other. Or it could be a "big thing" you're facing--or more than one--that feels insurmountable, unbearable. You wonder if you have the strength to face it. You look for friends, but you realize, whether you have friends around you that are able to support you or not, you are, in the end...alone.

Well, not completely alone. It's in those moments that God sometimes seems to show Himself to us the most clearly or powerfully. You might not feel as if you can make it through on your own strength, but you can make it in God's.

That's why Paul's verse, Philippians 4:13, is such a great reminder. He states, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Not certain things, under certain conditions. Christ's strength is limitless and it's always there for His children to draw on. The sad thing is that so often we try to handle life's problems, big and small, with our own strength. We think, "That's great you're here, God, but I've got this one," or maybe we just get so wrapped up in our difficulties we forget to hand them to Him. We spend all our energy wrestling and fretting over the struggles rather than resting in Him.

Of course this verse doesn't mean that life won't ever drain our energy or get difficult. It is a reminder, though, that perhaps, after all, we are strongest when all of our strength is drained. That is when we rely on Jesus' strength even more to help us through the difficulties we are facing. It's when, if we let Him, He wraps us in His loving embrace and carries us through the night until, once again, we're standing under the light of a new morning, full of hope and peace and joy we thought we wouldn't feel again.

More Thoughts on 1 Corinthians

I'm just a few chapters behind, so I think I'll go through chapter by chapter, mentioning the major points that stuck out to me.

Chapter 2:

1. Paul explains in this chapter how he didn't come to the Corinthians preaching with the skill of a great orator. He was full of the power of God. It was the simple power of the message of Christ and His crucifixion that converted the Corinthians, not human talent or persuasion. God doesn't need our great talents; He works through us and uses His power to get the job done.

2. Paul then expounds on the mystery of the Holy Spirit. It reveals the wisdom of God to believers, allowing them to experience the glory of God. Unbelievers cannot understand the power or working of the Holy Spirit. A person has to have it inside himself in order to really feel it work. It is "foolishness" to the world!

Chapter 3:

1. Once again, Paul rebukes the Christians for their divisions and bickering. He basically calls them "baby Christians" who can't yet handle "solid food", or more complicated or deeper teachings of Christianity. They still live very much according to their sinful nature and have much maturing to do. He goes on to remind them that he and Apollos are equal in status--both are working together in God. The Corinthians' division over who converted whom is meaningless. They are God's work. They now need to build on their foundation of Jesus Christ worthily and care for their bodies as the temples of God. In other words, Paul is telling them it's time for them to get their acts together and live for the glory of God both in their actions and in how they take care of and keep their own bodies pure. It's time to mature.

2. Finally, he reminds them not to glory in themselves. Only God is worth glorying in because human wisdom is nothing compared to godly wisdom. In Jesus, they have all; in themselves, nothing.

Chapter 4:

Paul describes the sufferings he and other apostles have undergone for Jesus. He mentions being beaten, homeless, hungry, thirsty, and slandered. Every one of their human needs and desires has suffered for the cause of Christ. Yet not only do they continue preaching Jesus--they also bless those who hurt them and endure their persecution. That is love for Jesus and for others, even enemies!

Chapter 5:

Here Paul reminds believers not to associate with immoral Christians because of the bad influence they will have on them. Evil deeds rub off more easily than good ones. Paul knows the dangers of associating with sin. Christians should not place themselves so needlessly within temptation.

Chapter 6:

1. Apparently the Corinthians were taking disputes over legal matters among themselves to unbelievers. He says that these issues should be dealt with within the church. Christians should be able to love one another and settle their own human issues without the impute of a non-Christian, who does not know the love of God. They can't offer the Godly advice that Christians need to hear; not to mention, bringing petty human troubles to non-Christians can be damaging to a Christian's testimony.

2. God reminds the believers again that they are God's temple and were "bought with a price", so they should remain pure for God's honor. It's a powerful reminder to be told that we are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit!

Chapter 7:

In this chapter, Paul tells unmarried believers that singleness is a blessing. It allows more focus on God, since the Christian is not distracted by a spouse. Instead the focus is on God and serving Him. I don't see Paul saying that he is against marriage; he knows that to each man or woman comes a different calling.

However, it is a great reminder just to be told that singleness is good. Our culture is so relationship/romance-obsessed, it can be difficult to remember that being single doesn't mean that there is "something wrong with you." The stereotype of old maid or "cat lady" might still exist, but how do cultural or human standards compare with what pleases God, anyway? Singleness gives the opportunity to draw close to God, whether the singleness is a permanent state, or just a temporary phase before God blesses someone in marriage. Either way, it is a time that should be taken advantage of by being grateful about it and growing in God. Married people or those in relationships can still grow in God, of course...but single years are a gift in that there are fewer distractions. Perhaps the times we are lonely and want a greater human connection are when we need God the most!

Chapter 8:

Although Paul talks specifically about food offered to idols here, this could be a "fill-in-the-blank" topic. He tells Christians that they are free to do those things that are not sinful as long as their consciences are clear. In other words, to some, one particular action could place them within temptation even though the action isn't sinful in itself; in this case, that action is sin to that believer. Their consciences convict them about the action and they know that they shouldn't partake in it. For those whose consciences do not convict them of the same thing, it is not sin, but should be avoided while Christians who can stumble by it are present. We should respect their convictions, and also remember never to do anything we are uncertain or uncomfortable about--it could be our own personal stumbling block.

A Few Reminders

It was nice to pick up my Bible, flip to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and, even though I'd just read through it not long ago, be able to go back through it and find some excellent reminders.

Three things really stuck out to me in this chapter:

1. Paul starts off by mentioning in verse 4 that he "thanks[s] my God always concerning you..." I realized that this must have been encouraging to the Corinthians. Paul said here that his fellow-believers were a blessing to him, and he wanted them to know that. It made me think about the Christians in my life that have built me up, prayed for me, and stayed by my side--whether it's been over a period of years or months, I greatly appreciate them. Believers share a special bond. It's something that maybe we can start to take for granted or overlook when we let our human sides get in the way so that we begin to bicker and fight and grow bitter toward one another. Fellow Christians are a blessing that is worth thanking God for! And we should let them know how much they mean to us. Who knows just how encouraging that could be!

2. Next, Paul asked the believers not to be divided. This plays a bit into what I was already talking about, how it's easy for us to let our sinful selves get in the way and ruin some great Christian relationships. Paul wanted the Corinthians to remember that who told them about the gospel or which preacher or apostle they followed didn't matter. They were all followers in Christ: an identity that creates unity, and, therefore, strength. Christians are always going to have differing backgrounds, but if we focus on what unites us--faith in Jesus--we can all be one unified family. When our focus is on Christ instead of ourselves or other humans, we can move past division and disagreement.

3. Lastly, Paul talked about how the gospel is "foolishness" to unbelievers. This is so evident in modern times, in which the educated and intelligent of the world are always trying to use "science" and "reason" to explain God away. But Paul says God's true wisdom will put the wise to shame, as He chooses the less educated, intelligent, popular, etc., to proclaim His Word and follow Him. This way, humans can't take God's glory for themselves--not when He chooses the least of people to do His greatest works.

This reminds me, first off, that human nature hasn't changed and that the struggles that come from being ridiculed and attacked by the intellectuals of the world are not unique to our time. Christianity was under attack back then from the people who thought that it was "foolish", just as it is the world is attempting to discount it now. Second, it's also great to remember that God chooses "the little people" to do His great works. We don't have to be extremely talented or wise or strong or charismatic. We just have to be ourselves, and God will make that MORE than enough, in Him.