Part 3: “Compassed”

“Thou art my hiding place; Thou shalt preserve me from trouble.

Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.”

(Psalms 32:7)

Sometimes the circumstances of life can leave you feeling isolated in your situation. One of Satan’s tactics is to make us feel our situation is different from everyone else’s. Elijah felt so alone in ministry he just wanted out and asked God to let him die. At one point, David felt so isolated that he said, “no one careth for my soul.”

The devil would like you to believe that you are in this alone, no one understands what you feel and there is little chance that things will ever get better. Surrounded by family but, you feel alienated. Going to work and interacting with coworkers but, feeling like your problems separate you from everyone else. Serving in the church, preaching, singing, teaching, giving, and all the while, feeling isolated in our situation. Do the problems exist? Yes. Are the feelings real? Everyday. And, little by little we focus on God and His Word less and less.

Listed below are truths for us to treasure in the midst of trouble:

• Psalms 32:7 “…thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.”We are literally surrounded by God.Paul so felt this that he said, “In Him we live and move and have our being.”

• Psalms 34:7 “The angel of the Lord encampeth about them that fear Him.”

• Ps 5:12 “For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor you will surround him as with a shield.”

• Psalms 125:2 “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forevermore.”

Faith, focus, and feelings are connected. If we dwell on and act on our feelings, our life will be erratic and characterized by a frantic and frustrating struggle for survival. Every day, throughout the day, we must choose, in faith, to embrace the promises of God. It’s not rocket science: focus affects faith. Our adversary, the devil, would like us to believe that we are forever trapped by our troubles and victory will always be beyond our grasp. God has a different opinion. He surrounds us with songs of deliverance! God sees what you and I can’t see. You are a victor not a victim. God is going to get you through what you are going through…. He sees, sends, and surrounds us with deliverance!! You and I are “compassed about” with victory. Be a voice of victory in someone’s life today!