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“In my desperation,  I prayed, and the Lord listened; He saved me from all my troubles. For the angel of the Lord is a guard;  He surrounds and defends all who fear him.” Psalm 34:6-7 (NLT)

If you are tracking with me, last week I wrote about desperation. We looked at Psalm 34:6 and recognized that the Lord listens to us when we pray to Him even in our most desperate times.

I want to continue that conversation by looking at Psalm 34:7. ”The angel of the Lord is a guard; He surrounds and defends all who fear Him.”  When I am desperate, when my mind is struggling to focus on Him, what does God do? He guards me, surrounds me, and defends me! The only thing He asks of us is that we fear Him.  Pause for just a moment because this can be so easily misunderstood. God does not want us running scared from Him. He wants us to recognize, acknowledge, and believe Who He is. We fear Him by choosing Him and deciding He is Who He says He is. Hopefully, this is a comfort to us. We can rest in Him even when circumstances have not changed. God is still on the throne, that is Who He is!

I have been memorizing Psalm 34 and it has become my lifeline. The angel of the Lord, God Himself, is ‘guarding me.’    Some versions read “encamps me.”  This is exactly where I am- outside and alone and trying to figure life out. But the Lord knows and He surrounds me. I cannot let this image go! The God who created all knows every detail of my pain, and He promises to wrap Himself around me…my only requirement-to acknowledge Who He is.

I was talking with someone dear to my heart this week, and I asked her how her faith has stayed strong and how she has remained loyal to Christ when I have watched her walk through unimaginable pain. Her comment was that no matter what she wrestles with, her faith in Jesus Christ is her lifeline and remains the anchor. She can consider other ways of thinking or different ways things could be done, but whatever she comes up with has to build on the fact that Jesus Christ is her all and that is Who He is.

That is the key, my Friend. Keeping Jesus as the center, acknowledging Who He is, and building with Him as the center of our lives. We are not alone in our pain.

He is the Rock, the Anchor, the Lighthouse. That is Who He is! Acknowledge Who He is today!

“Abba, thank you for guarding, surrounding, and defending me even when my world seems so unstable. Help me remember Who You are.”

For His Glory

Terrie Tollerson
TRBC Women’s Life