Surrounded & in Perfect Peace
I love the word pictures Scripture uses. I’ll admit that sometimes the Bible can be tough to understand. But other times God paints a picture for us using simple language and comparing eternal truths to everyday images we understand. The passage I read this morning was one of these simple word pictures.
“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forever more.” (Ps 125:1-2)
I’m no geographical scholar, and I can’t tell you much about the topography of Israel. However, I can easily envision Jerusalem sitting safe in a lush valley surrounded by mountains and cliffs which form natural barriers of protection for the city. And just as the mountains encircle Jerusalem, this Psalm says we as believers are surrounded and protected by God. What an image! God Himself surrounds us, encircles us, hems us in on every side.
In his book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Peterson notes:
“People of faith have the same needs for protection and security as anyone else. We are no better than others in that regard. What is different is that we find that we don’t have to build our own.”
The book of Psalms is full of these images of God as our protection. God is our “refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Ps 46:1). He is our “fortress” (46:7). He “encamps around us” and delivers us (34:7). He is our “rock of refuge” (Ps 31:3) and “hiding place” (Ps 32:7).
During Old Testament times, many ancient cities built walls to defend against outside opposition, but even then, life wasn’t ever 100 percent safe and secure. The Isaelites were constantly threatened by surrounding enemies - Pharoah, the Philistines, Babylon, Rome. But in the midst of conflict, the Israelites knew their safety didn’t come from walls or armies; their safety came from our all-powerful God who set the stars in the sky simply by stretching out his arm. Is anything too hard for Him?
How amazing to know that this same God protects us still today. His word tells us that He “will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord himself is the Rock eternal” (Is 26:3-4).
So whatever comes up today, whether it’s trouble or hardship, confusion or frustration, we can move forward in confidence because our security doesn’t come from any man-made military or citadel. The Lord Himself is our fortress. And when we’re not sure we can hold ourselves up, we can be sure God is holding us. Be held. Be surrounded. Be at perfect peace.
