Inspired by Psalm 139:5
Anyone who knows me well enough knows that hugs are very important to me. I think that hugs are my sixth love language (this phrase is completely made up by me - I don’t think that there are actually six love languages). What joy and peace, love and connection with others, I feel with a warm embrace from someone I love. There is just something about hugs.
I’ve been in a season of life where I’ve sat in the words of Psalm 139. It has become one of my favorite Psalms. I could write a book on how much this Psalm has impacted my life in the past few months. Psalm 139 goes into depth about our God and how He knows us completely. He knows every word we speak before we have spoken a word, every action before we have taken it, every thought we have, and more. We literally cannot run from Him, because He is with us everywhere. He formed every ounce of our being and has known who we are before we were even conceived. He is so, so good. One verse I have been clinging to lately is Psalm 139:5.
“You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.”
When I think of the word “hem”, I think about a seam on an article of clothing, where you fold the fabric at the end and sew it into place to create a secure edge that prevents it from falling apart. The Hebrew word for hem, “sur”, means something similar. It means to confine, secure, or enclose, and it was often used in the old testament to describe situations in which they would be completely surrounded by the enemy. The CSB and NASB translations both translate this word as “encircled”. Not only is David describing being “encircled” by the presence of God, but He further emphasizes that by describing God as going “behind” (Ahor) and “before” (Gedem), which literally translates that God is on both his backside and front. As God’s presence is surrounding/encircling David in this Psalm, he is also following and being followed by God. David doesn’t even end there, but even describes God putting His hand on him. Not only is he fully surrounded by the presence of God, but the act of God putting His hand on him creates a picture of intimacy with his creator.
God isn’t one to create and forget. He is walking every single step of this life with us. Just as it says in Psalm 139, He hems us in, behind and before. He leads us in, and He follows us. We are surrounded by His presence. Up the mountaintops, God leads us up, and He follows us as we are climbing. He walks right along with us into the trenches of life and assures us that we are never alone and we are never left within the depths. Every hill, every desert, every storm, every sunny day, is walked with Him directly by our side. The bible tells us over and over again that this is the truth. Jesus’ name was literally “Immanuel”, meaning “God with us” (Matthew 1:23), and Jesus came as God in the flesh to walk with us on this earth (John 1:14). God’s Spirit literally dwells within those who believe in Him (1 Corinthians 3:16). In Romans, Paul tells of his confidence that literally nothing on this earth could ever separate us from the love of God through Christ (Romans 8:38-39).
Sometimes the goodness of God is just overwhelming, and I thank God that He surrounds us with His good presence daily.
Some words from my journal:
“My God, you are here.
You have not left me.
I am confined, enclosed, secured, within the arms of the creator.
He puts His HAND on me.
There’s no escaping, no running, no getting out.
Why would I ever desire to leave?
What a good place to be.
My God, you are here.”
I wait for the day that we can fully be with God in the new heaven and the new earth. Revelation 21:3-4 tells us:
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
I long for the day described here, where we can experience the fullness of God, where we can be reunited with the ones we love who have come to know Jesus as their savior. I long for the day when all things are completely renewed. However, I am beyond thankful that God did not leave us nothing in the time that we wait for that day. God surrounds us, encircles us, hems us in, and lays His hand on us, so that we never truly have to be alone. He is here.
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Scripture References:
Psalm 139:5
You hem me in, behind and before,
And lay your hand upon me.
Matthew 1:23
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
1 Corinthians 3:16
“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”
Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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