#WeAreSurrounded

No, it is not Indians on the war path. No, it is not an army besieging the citadel. Rest easy, we are surrounded by the Almighty Infinite God. There is no place in the entire universe that we can get away from the presence of God. This God is everywhere, every second surrounding us and not just passively there as inert as air, but listening and watching and working and He has a plan for each of us. This truth should give us assurance and peace.

When the first one of my five children was preparing to leave home to go a university about an hour away, it dawned on me that I wasn't going to be around to make sure he ate right, or that his socks matched or that he went to bed at the proper time. I wasn't going to see him every day and be able to check how he was doing. There was a scary moment as I dwelt on those thoughts, but,then the thought came that God would be there even closer than I could ever be and He loved my son even more than I did and it would be far better if I just trusted the great I AM to take care of him. I was going to grow in a different aspect of trusting my Father God as my son left home.

This idea of learning to trust is somewhat challenging when you have had some control or been aware of things going on around you, but, when you are pretty much ignorant of stuff, you don't even know how to pray, what to ask for and feelings can rule and sometimes the worst scenario comes to my mind and I can become a worry wort.

There have been times when I felt that God didn't care about me, wasn't hearing me, not answering me. There have been times when I felt very alone and those feelings made me sad and I had a big grey cloud hovering over me all day. Well, for crying out loud, why should I stay in this state? Is it just because I want to feel sorry for myself? That is the answer - I want to feel sorry for myself because no one else does.

Enough of that! Do something! What? Use your head, dummy! Make your mind work! There are good things to put your mind on, like something real, like God's Word! What has God said that I can take to heart? " I will never leave you or forsake you." "I have plans for you, plans for good and not evil." "I will be with you until the end of the world." "I have loved you with an everlasting love". "Nothing can separate us from the love of God."

I can choose what state I want to be in. I can choose to be miserable or I can choose to have joy. Personally, I'd rather have joy. There are times in life when trusting in the Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent God of the Bible is the only thing that brings joy. Today, I choose Joy.