Welcome, my friend! Come on in & we’ll enjoy a cuppa together while reflecting upon a rather odd question.

I have baked an Orange & Lemon gf sweet loaf for us which is absolutely delicious, so we’ll have a toasted slice with real butter melting upon it’s deliciousness with our cuppa today. It goes especially well with a mug of Caramel Café Latte.

Now we’re comfy, let’s begin…

Ladies Group

The other morning while enjoying morning tea in a friend’s home just up the road, with some wonderful ladies from our church in our regular time of prayer & fellowship together.

Our hostess read a devotion, it was highlighting that when we screw up Psalm 139 can be a wonderful comfort.

In that;

• God knows us through & through, He even knows our thoughts.
• He is always with us, so we cannot hide from Him.
• He is our Creator & we are wonderfully made by Him.

The devotion had a few questions at the end for us to reflect upon. And one in particular stood out to me as it sounded quite odd in today’s language & meaning.

It was the following;

How do you feel when you’re hemmed in by God?

This was in reference to verses 5 – 6;

‘You hem me in behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.…’

Psalm 139 BSB

I raised this question in our discussion, to see what the other ladies perspectives were & their answers were most interesting;

1. One understood it meant; protected by God by being immersed in His presence.
2. Another had thought that it was an odd question in that it sounded as though we were being negatively hampered or restricted by God.
3. Another thought that it had meant that when we screw up & come to Him in repentance that He encompasses us in His love & forgiveness.

It’s interesting to get different perspectives on a portion of scripture, such as this, from other believers for that’s how we learn & the Holy Spirit often enlightens the meaning of His Word to us.

As the meaning of words today, especially in Western Society, can be very different to some older translations of scripture with the cultural context of certain words changing over time.

The Takeaway

I believe this portion of scripture is saying all of the above that;

• God does indeed protects us
• God does guide & directs our steps
• And yes at times He hems us in, in love

The following scripture comes to mind;

‘For surely You, O LORD, bless the righteous; You surround them with the shield of Your favor.’

Psalm 5: 12

God’s ‘hemming in’ then is His shield of protection for us & at times this can seem restrictive at first, especially when He guides us through challenging circumstances & in a direction that we may not necessarily want to go (Jonah is an example of this)!

Let’s make this personal…

If you join me here often you’ll know that I live with several autoimmune conditions that, at present, have no cure but by a miracle from God.

At first, when I had to leave my professional life because of these chronic conditions, I did indeed feel hemmed in, left behind & confined to life’s back room. Especially after I had worked so very hard to reach the pinnacle of Clinical Counselling as a Clinical Supervisor & Practitioner.

While I knew God had not given me these conditions, I knew He had allowed them. And while I didn’t understand why, I chose to set my focus & trust fully upon Him for He knows the beginning from the end & has never let me down.

For His wisdom far surpasses mine, knowing;

… [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose…

Romans 8: 28 AMP

Thus within this season of Chronic Health conditions I have not only seen God’s love & protective shield of favour around me (hemming me in) but experienced it!  Experiencing His presence, His enabling & His Strength on a far deeper level then in any other season in life.

For this I am truly grateful!

What about you my friend, are you feeling God’s shield of protection/ favour? Do you feel Him hemming you in, in love? Please feel free to share…

Until next time,

Jennifer

You’re most welcome to join me in The Reading Nook

Or in Prayer

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© 2024 Jennifer M. Ross, All Rights Reserved. Photo by Варвара Курочкина on pexels.com

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