It may look like I’m surrounded, but I’m surrounded by YOU.
I sang this worship song with tears streaming down my cheeks while driving to work.
Driving has always been wonderful therapy for me to process fears and sorrows...mainly because when I am NOT in the car I am busy doing something and the processing and feeling and praying takes a back seat to the busyness.
But back to the worship song.
This is how I fight my battles.
In prayer.
In praise.
Refusing to allow the fear and the depression to take hold. Affirming that I AM SURROUNDED by the One who is able, the One who parted the Red Sea, the One who says that He will do immeasurably more than I can ask or imagine.
Surrounded.
Hannah Whithall Smith once wrote that there is not a single loophole of worry left for those who know God.
Not a single one. Not a “But what if…” or “Yeah, but…”. Not one. He surrounds us completely, without loopholes.
I have a meditation ring that spins and when I spin it I have a mantra that centers me - that mantra is “surround”. And as I spin the ring throughout the day and say the word, I can almost picture the beautiful power that surrounds me like a glowing glass bubble on all sides, like an orb of super power. I am now untouchable by the enemy even if I am walking through a battlefield. The arrows cannot penetrate - they cannot reach me.
I think knowing that He surrounds me is so important right now because I am feeling unsafe. My husband has been hit with cancer, and it has apparently been growing in him for some time. And I had no idea. What else is quietly sneaking up on us? Have I not been vigilant enough? Am I now going to lose my best friend? How can I slay this thing trying to steal his life?
This is how I fight my battles.
When the anxiety comes against me, trying to get in and settle in as my “own”, I call up my shield, my hedge of protection, my strong tower. He is my strength and my salvation - in Him will I trust.
I rebuke the fear and I send anxiety packing because I can. I am surrounded by His protection and strength.
When we are afraid we cannot think clearly and we often make short sighted, rash decisions, reacting to the emotion of fear rather than acting out of a position of strength.
And in a battle we need strategy, not fearful overreaction.
Picture how differently you would walk through the battlefield if you had to duck everytime a bullet flew at you or fight off every blow by soldiers coming at you. You would be overwhelmed, zig zagging around and getting nowhere. Now picture you walking through that same battlefield with the impenetrable orb of His protection surrounding you. No ducking. No running or spinning or desperately flailing against the enemy. Eyes on the destination, calmly walking through. Eyes on Him.
And that is the victory. The ability to look the storm, the battle, the fear in the eyes and then unflinchingly carry on with our faith intact and our peace unshaken.
Whether the battle is the fear of losing a loved one, the heartache of watching a child make a bad decision or the exhaustion and overwhelm from a difficult relationship… he SURROUNDS us. Closer and more completely than the enemy. And when we see the strong walls of protection and feel the shadow of his wings covering us, we can breathe easier and allow ourselves to even REST in the midst of the storm. He’s got us. He promises it all over scripture. He is our deliverer and stronghold. Our superpower.
Battles are a chance for Him to show us how He fights for us, and how he quiets the storm.
Without a battle we never have the opportunity to see Him at work and to know how powerful He is - and therefore our faith is relegated to Sunday mornings or little prayers for daily bread.
Oh no. Watch what our fierce protector can do.
Stand and watch, and praise Him - this is how we fight our battles.
The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. He will deal with ALL who oppress you. - Zeph 3:17,19
- Kelly Joyce, member of our Crown of Beauty International Community (see her blog at www.triumphantly.net).
Comments