Surrounded

One of my favorite Scriptures is Psalm 125:2: As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore.

Our home is surrounded by mountains. So anytime I feel afraid, I look at those mountains and it brings strength to my soul. It is a reminder that no matter how scary things may look, my great and powerful God surrounds me.

The word surround in this verse means: “on every side, to encircle, to enclose, to envelop.”

Those words bring to mind a recent photo that our nephew shared with us. He and his wife just had their first child last month and they sent us a photo album via email. In one of the photos, his wife is holding their cozily swaddled son close to her. She is looking down at him with pure love and he is sleeping peacefully, knowing that he is completely secure.

As Christians, that is our situation positionally, regardless of what kind of chaos is swirling around us. I may not feel safe when trials come, but I cling to what I know is true and the feelings eventually do catch up…especially as I observe how wonderfully God provides in the midst of it all.

I began to wonder what else surrounds us as believers, and I wanted to share what a search through the Bible revealed:

We are surrounded by God’s goodwill, pleasure, and favor (Psalm 5:12)

God delights in us. He accepts us. He desires us. He loves us with great affection.

“When God thinks about you, His child, His heart explodes in glad celebration. There is divine jubilation beyond words when Almighty God ponders His own.” –Sam Storms, The Singing God.

We are surrounded by songs and shouts of deliverance (Psalm 32:7)

The original word for song means: “ringing cry, cry of joy, to sing for joy, to rejoice.”

Can you imagine what the Voice of God singing and rejoicing over your sweet life sounds like?! One day, when we are finally in His physical presence, we will hear that beautiful song. Until then, we can know that His song rings out strong and clear in the spiritual realm.

“If it were possible to eavesdrop on solar systems millions of light years away, would we hear anything? Is there sound in space? I believe there is one voice that would indeed be heard. Even now, in the farthest reaches of infinity, among the trillions and trillions of stars  yet unseen by human eyes, echoes forth the passionate Voice of the Father, singing about His love for you and for me.” –Sam Storms, The Singing God.

Not only is He rejoicing over us, but He is also singing about our deliverance. That word means: ‘to bring into security, to bring into safety.” I could cry when I think back over all the times when I saw no way out of certain situations and was tempted to despair. However…He always delivered me to a place of safety. Always. And it was hardly ever in the way I imagined it would happen…it was better and could only be explained by His supernatural intervention. I will never get over His goodness!

“The God who is present with you is also a God of unlimited power. He is a mighty Warrior, a strong and victorious Hero who fights on  your behalf.” –Sam Storms, The Singing God.

We are surrounded by His unfailing love. (Psalm 32:10)

What comfort it is to know that His kindness, goodness, mercy and favor surround us at ALL times.

The good news is that we can go beyond just knowing that this is true; God wants us to “feel the joy of being loved. He wants us to receive His love personally and powerfully in a way that is life changing…He invites us to ‘taste and see that the Lord is good’ (Psalm 34:8) and to find in Him ‘exceeding joy.’ (Psalm 43:4).–Sam Storms, The Singing God.

Whatever your situation today, allow these truths to permeate your soul.

You are surrounded. You are safe. You are loved.