When You Are Surrounded

When You Are Surrounded

O Lord, I have so many enemies;
so many are against me.
² So many are saying,
“God will never rescue him!” Interlude^[a]

³ But you, O Lord, are a shield around me;
you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
⁴ I cried out to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy mountain. Interlude

Psalms 3:1-4

When you are surrounded by troubles, cares, worries, un-pleasantries, and enemies know that you are also even more surrounded by God, His favor, His righteousness, His mercy, His compassion, and His love. Today, as most days seem to go, I noticed around me many things that could put me on edge, make me lose my focus, become discouraged, or spark in me a desire to quit believing that I will receive the promises of God in my life. There is a place in our walk with God that feels like God has taken the training wheels off and is allowing us to ride wobbly and somewhat unsteady through various phases in life. You can’t always feel Him, but you have come to trust that He is nearby ready to catch you if you start to lose your balance or begin to fall. This is a feeling of growth and maturity, of added responsibility – it’s not going to be God’s fault if you fall or crash or get lost along the way. He is near, He is willing, but He won’t keep His hand on you to steady you, because that would impede your growth and development in the way that He wants you to move from now on. All of this learning, growing, exploring, and discovering is great until you find yourself surrounded. Now is the time to move in the way that He has been training you and have confidence that if He brought you this far, He won’t leave you here…. surrounded by darkness.

Whether its bills mounting up, frustrating relationships, problems in your health, or whatever other type of enemy that can rise up against you – there is something that you should know: God Himself is a shield around you! Lately I have been resting in this truth and I can say that it really makes a difference in how I perceive the unpleasant situations that I face. I know that we are admonished to be sober and vigilant (1 Peter 5:8), to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) and to be fully armed with the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) to be ready to resist the wiles of the enemy. All of that is important, and should be done as instructed, but we can do those things knowing that the enemy can’t just run up on us. We have our Savior, our Creator, our Messiah, our Healer, Protector, Provider, Way-maker, Best Friend, Father, and Lover of Our Souls as a shield before we even encounter the evil one!

A lot of ministers encourage us to praise God for the victory before we can see it. They say when it gets the hardest and you want to give up, that is the best time to praise. I know that many of you reading this have tried this, but ended up discouraged because it seemed like the more you praised and worshiped the enemy closed in on you surrounding you in a suffocating bubble of despair. I know how that feels too, so you are not alone, however I begin to think on how God always rescues me from the hand of the enemy, how He always makes a way when I don’t know what else I can do, how He heals the most fragile parts of me when I feel like this time I am really going to fall apart He holds me together. I don’t have it all together, none of us really do, but I am getting to know God as my shield, the place of safety that I had been looking for. I encourage you to ask God to show Himself strong on your behalf as your Shield.

Let’s Pray: Lord thank You for surrounding me with Your love, mercy and grace all the days of my life. Lord I acknowledge that You are always near, even when I can’t feel it and therefore I have no reason to fear any of the wiles and tactics of the enemy. Lord please forgive me for the times I want to stop trusting, want to give up, or complain about how things are instead of turning to You. Lord You have never let me down and any disappointment, lack, unpleasant situations, or illness I have encountered has not to take me out, but to help me get to know You better. Lord please help me to always be aware that You are a shield for me, my family, and all that I put my hands to. Lord You are my insurance and coverage from all that could hurt or harm. Lord help me to keep You as my shield all around me every time I go into battle. Lord thank You for the victory that You have already prepared for me from the beginning. I renew my trust and rest in You and ask You for all of this in Jesus’ Mighty name!

Blessings Always,

Dionne Renae

Here are some songs to further activate this encouraging word that God is our Shield!