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Surrounded BY God
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds his people
both now and forevermore.
—Psalms 125:2
The Unbreachable Circle
Scripture:
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore. — Psalms 125:2 (NIV)
Devotion:
The city of Jerusalem does not sit on a flat plain, exposed and vulnerable. It is nestled within a ring of high hills and mountains—the Mount of Olives, Mount Scopus, and others forming a great, natural defense. For the ancient pilgrim, this geographical reality was a powerful symbol of safety and permanence. The mountains were a constant, unmoving, and protective presence. It is this very image that the psalmist uses to help us grasp the nature of God’s relationship with His people.
First, consider the corporate surrounding. The psalmist says the Lord surrounds "his people," the collective whole. The mountains don't just protect a single home; they encircle the entire city. This is a beautiful picture of the Church. We are not a scattered collection of individuals hoping for the best, but a holy city held secure within the unbreachable circle of God’s care. His presence is the very environment in which we live and breathe and have our being as a community. This divine fortress protects us from spiritual forces we cannot see and provides a shared sanctuary of grace. When one member of the community rejoices, the echo is heard across the hills of God's presence. When one suffers, they do so not in an open field of despair, but within the protective valley of His sovereignty, held and supported by the prayers and love of the saints.
Yet, God’s majesty is so profound that this vast, all-encompassing protection does not feel distant or impersonal. It is also deeply intimate. Imagine standing on a balcony in Jerusalem. You can see the grand sweep of the mountains on the horizon, but you can also feel the gentle breeze they channel into the city streets. In the same way, the God who is our mighty fortress is also the one who draws near to whisper to the individual soul.
He surrounds you. He surrounds your specific anxieties, your quiet hopes, the silent battles you fight when no one is watching. His presence is not just a wall on the horizon; it is the very atmosphere you breathe. He is the steadfast hope that encircles your moment of failure and the quiet joy that envelops your moment of victory. The same power that establishes the mountains is the same tenderness that shields your fragile heart. He knows your name. He sees your path. His vast, eternal nature is focused with loving precision on the details of your life.
And this promise is sealed with a timeline: "both now and forevermore." This is not a temporary shield. It is a permanent reality. The security you have in Him now, in this very moment, is the same security that will hold you in your final moments and usher you into eternity. The mountains don't get up and walk away. They are the definition of steadfast. So it is with the Lord. His protective presence is the one constant in a world of endless change.
To live in this truth is to live with a quiet confidence. It is to face uncertainty not with fear, but with the deep assurance that we are held, together and alone, within the unbreachable circle of God's loving arms.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for being the mountains around me and around Your people. Help me to rest in the security of Your corporate embrace, knowing I am part of a community held safely by You. And draw my heart to the intimacy of that promise—that You surround my life, my fears, and my future with Your personal care. May I live today and every day as one who is safely, completely, and eternally surrounded by