Surrounded By God

Surrounded by God

Those who trust in the LORD are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever. Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, both now and forever.

Psalm 125:1-2

How much would you pay for a device that would instantly transform your emotional life so you never experienced an ounce of emotional pain? What if you could set the device to protect you from feelings of anxiety, sorrow, anger, and frustration? Wouldn’t that be great?

Well, maybe not. It might turn you into some kind of bizarre automaton, responding to life like one of those statues of a happy Buddha, sitting cross-legged with a smile on his face. As troublesome as our emotions can sometimes be, they are gifts given by the God who made us. But emotions can be confusing, sometimes leading us to the wrong conclusions, especially in our relationship with God.

“My feelings,” says Eugene Peterson, “are important for many things. They are essential and valuable. They keep me aware of much that is true and real. But they tell me next to nothing about God or my relation to God. My security comes from who God is, not from how I feel.” Peterson goes on to cite Psalm 125. “‘As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people.’” The image that announces the dependable, unchanging, safe, secure existence of God’s people, he says, “comes from geology, not psychology.”^a

Feeling especially calm and peaceful today? Thank God for your sense of tranquility. Feeling troubled and anxious? Don’t let it worry you too much. Feeling somewhere in between? God can handle that, too. The Lord’s love always encircles you, no matter what is going on in your life.

Father, thank you that you are bigger than any emotion I might have. When I feel tossed about by emotional storms, help me to calm myself by envisioning your faithful love as a mountain surrounding and protecting me. Thank you for your unchanging, rock-solid faithfulness.

^a Ibid., 87.