You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Psalm 139: 5 (ESV) I opened my eyes to the morning with, "I'm on the throne, stop holding on, and just be held..." singing in my mind (Just Be Held, Casting Crowns, 2014-- Thrive Album). It was weird to wake up to that. I wasn't in crisis but I prayed "thank you" any way and got my day started.
... and then it hit... the fear... fear about my children's future, fear about my decision making… the fears dog-piled on me... I realized, after a moment of freak-out, "Oh, that's what that song was about!" The Holy Spirit was talking to me the moment I opened my eyes because he knew what would be in my heart and the flaming arrows that would be coming my way (Ephesians 6:16). Fear. It's a weapon of choice by the Deceiver against me (and many believers). Fear translates to, "your God isn't big enough to handle insert fear generating problem here. Except I know that the doubt inducing whisper accompanied by heart-gripping fear is not from God Almighty. I know what His voice sounds like. The Holy Spirit doesn't speak to me like that. He wakes me up to an "I got this" song in my heart reminding me that the Lord Jesus is on the throne sitting next to God the Father. As I was working on moving beyond the fears of the day I "happened" to read a Proverbs 31 Ministries devotional on combating fear. I then remembered a verse from Psalm 139, a chapter that reminds us of the Lord's power and love for us. I remembered, "you hem me in, behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me" (Psalm 139:5, ESV). Just like my day-- starting with a love song, attacked by fear, followed by a fear fighting devotional and Bible verse-- I had been hemmed in behind and before by the Lord's grace. The second part of that verse, "and you lay your hand upon me" is not to be dismissed (Psalm 139:5b). You can’t touch someone (lay your hand on them) if they're far away, you have to be close. When the Lord hems us in and lays his hand on us he's with us in the midst of our struggle. We are not alone and we have nothing to fear. Before that morning Psalm 139:5 had no personal meaning to me, but I know it was God's way of encouraging me to keep up the fight and trust him. Jesus is big enough to handle it all. Child of God, I don't know what flaming arrows are coming your way. I recommend you fight fire with fire, the fire of the Holy Spirit. Through prayer and personal Bible study, God will squelch the flaming arrows of the evil one and will reignite your heart for Him. Jesus is big enough, more than big enough. To God be the glory, Sarah Would you join me in prayer? Jesus, in you I have nothing to fear because nothing can separate us (Romans 8:38-39). You are bigger than big enough. Please hem me in so my eyes of faith never stray from you. In Jesus name, amen. Reflection: In what way have you been attacked through spiritual warfare: fear, doubt, distrust? In what ways has God answered that attack in your life? Faith-In-Action: Pray Psalm 139:5 (devotional verse) over yourself and believe that the Lord will hem you in and lay His hand on you. How does that reshape what your day looks like? How does He hem you in?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Be Blessed WordsFrom devotions, to encouragments, to reviews, to visual-theology, to Bible savorings-- you'll find it all right here in this Christ-centered section of Be Blessed Prayer, Be Blessed Words. ArchivesCategories
All
|