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.