There’s a figure of speech that refers to being stuck between “a rock and a hard place.” Dear reader, I have literally been stuck on a rock and a hard place simultaneously.
I recently went on a trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, with my best friends. I had never been to the state of Colorado before, so I was extremely excited to get there and finally see that state for myself.
But, being a “lowlander”, as it were, I am not used to extremely high altitudes and the cold temperatures that come with them. So, imagine my surprise when the ice and snow was so bad that our van got stuck on the interstate on our way back down the mountain to Denver. We were literally “hemmed in, behind and before” with black ice and powdery snow.
But here’s the thing: Someone had already hemmed us into His protection well before we got stuck on that mountain.
David lauds God’s endless knowledge of his being in Psalm 139. Specifically, he praises God for His protection by saying, “You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me” (Psalm 139:5). In the following verse, he says such knowledge is “too wonderful” for him (Psalm 139:6).
Was I scared on that mountain, so high up in such dense snow that I couldn’t see off the edge of the interstate guard rail? I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t. But thanks to God and one of my amazing best friends, who just so happens to be a Colorado native and who also happened to be driving us, along with an extremely helpful state trooper, we got off that mountain safe and sound.
There are moments in life where we will experience fear; some great fears, some small fears, and some things we have or have not experienced before that may cause us stress and anxiety. But here’s the amazing part: God has and always will protect us.
I want to share with you some more verses from Psalm 139: “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you” (Psalm 139:7-12).
You know who also experienced great fear? Jesus Himself. Was He afraid before being put on the cross? Absolutely. In fact, as He was praying to God beforehand, before all the prophesy and plans were set into motion, He was in anguish to the point of sweat drops of blood falling from His brow (Luke 22:39-46). If that’s not true fear, I don’t know what is. But He went to the cross anyway, fulfilling His Father’s promise to save humanity from sin and death, and now we have the hope of being in Heaven for eternity with Him.
We’ll all have moments where we’re stuck on our own figurative (or literal) mountains, our rocks, our hard places. But we can rest assured that God has hemmed us in, behind and before, and He will always protect and love us, no matter what happens.
By Savannah Cottrell
